NOTICE: Return or renew all Library Materials! The Minimum Fee for
each Lost Book is $50.00.
The person charging this material is responsible for
its return to the library from which it was withdrawn
on or before the Latest Date stamped below.
Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for discipli-
nary action and may result in dismissal from the University.
To renew call Telephone Center, 333-8400
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
FEB2 ] 2
I
L161 O-1096
ILLINOIS:
HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
VOL. II.
\
/
iHt
OF Iht
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
ILLINOIS .
HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL
COMPRISING THE ESSENTIAL FACTS
OF ITS
PLANTING AND GROWTH
%.
AS A
PROVINCE, COUNTY, TERRITORY, AND STATE.
DERIVED FROM THE MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCES, INCLUDING ORIGINAL
DOCUMENTS AND PAPERS. TOGETHER WITH CAREFULLY PREPARED
STATISTICAL TABLES RELATING TO POPULATION, FINANCIAL
ADMINISTRATION, INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS, INTERNAL
GROWTH, POLITICAL AND MILITARY EVENTS;
AND COMPLETE INDEX.
BY
JOHN MOSES,
EX-COUNTY JUDGE OF SCOTT COUNTY; PRIVATE SECRETARY OF Gov. YATES; MEMBER
OF THE TWENTY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF ILLINOIS; SECRETARY OF
THB BOARD OF RAILROAD AND WAREHOUSE COMMISSIONERS,
1880-3; SECRETARY AND LIBRARIAN OF THE
CHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY;
ETC., ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
VOL. II.
CHICAGO:
FERGUS PRINTING COMPANY.
1892.
COPYRIGHTED, 1892.
I- J
fe*
-
CONTENTS
VOL. II.
List of Illustrations, ix
PERIOD SIXTH. UNDER THE SECOND CONSTITUTION,
1848-1870.
CHAPTER XXXII.
The Constitutional Convention of 1847, and its Work
Elections of 1848 Second Administration of Governor
French Sixteenth General Assembly Election of
Gen. Shields to the U.-S. Senate Laws Seventeenth
General Assembly Free-Banking Law First Home-
stead-Exemption Law Illinois-Central Railroad, 553
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Administration of Gov. Matteson Eighteenth General
Assembly Re-election of Senator Douglas Laws
State and National Politics New Parties Nineteenth
General Assembly Election of Senator Trumbull
Prohibitory Liquor-Law The Common-School Law,
582
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Formation of New Parties The Eloomington Convention
Elections of 1856 Administration of Gov. Bissell
Twentieth General Assembly Laws The Campaign
of 1858 Twenty -first General Assembly Douglas
again elected to the Senate Laws The Matteson
Embezzlement Death of Gov. Bissell Succession of
Lieut.-Gov. John Wood, ..... 596
CHAPTER XXXV.
Review Conventions and Elections of 1860 Administra-
tion of Gov. Yates The Political Situation Twenty-
second General Assembly Senator Trumbull's Second
Election War - Clouds Lincoln's Inauguration
Attack on Fort Sumter The War of the Rebellion
begun Enlistments under Different Calls Changed
Conditions of Public Affairs, .... 629
iii
577333
iv ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Results of the First Year of the War The Constitutional
Convention of 1862 Further Calls for Troops Yates'
Masterly Appeal Escape from the Draft The Con-
ference of Governors at Altoona Emancipation
Elections of 1862 Twenty-third General Assembly-
Election of U.-S. Senator Laws Special Session
The Assembly Prorogued 655
CHAPTER XXXVII.
State of Parties The Northwestern Conspiracy Threat-
ened Attacks upon Camp Douglas and Chicago
The Political Campaigns of 1864 Party Platforms-
Results Progress of the War Internal Progress
State -Debt, 686
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Administration of Gov. Oglesby, 1865-9 Twenty fourth-
General Assembly Yates Elected to United- States
Senate The Thirteenth Amendment Laws Close
of the War Assassination of President Lincoln, 714
CHAPTER XXXIX.
The Civil War Number of Troops Engaged Battles
Losses Illinois in the War Quotas Troops Fur-
nished by Each County Bounties Paid Regimental
Losses at Fort Donelson Shiloh Stone River
Chickamauga Missionary Ridge Other Battles
Percentage of Losses Officers from Illinois Work
of the "Stay -at -Homes" Sanitary and Christian
Commissions Union League Songs of the War, 725
CHAPTER XL.
Gov. Oglesby 's Administration [Continued] Changed
Aspect of Politics Reconstruction Conventions and
Elections of 1866 Twenty -fifth General Assembly
Re-election of United-States Senator Trumbull Laws
New State-HousePolitical Conventions, Nomina-
tions, and Elections of 1868 State Debt, Receipts, and
Expenditures, 762
CONTENTS. V
CHAPTER XLI.
Governor Palmer's Administration (1869-1873) Twenty -
sixth General Assembly Ratification of the Fifteenth
Amendment Special Legislation Laws and Vetoes
Lake -Front Law Constitution of 1870, . 774
PERIOD SEVENTH. UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1870.
CHAPTER XLII.
Gov. Palmer's Administration [Continued] State Conven-
tions, Nominations, and Elections of 1870 Twenty-
seventh General Assembly Election of Gen. Logan
to the Senate Laws Recess and Reassembling of
the Legislature Chicago Fire Controversy between
Governor Palmer and Mayor Mason The Liberal-
Republican Party Presidential Nominations and
Elections of 1872, . ... 795
CHAPTER XLIII.
Administration of Gov. Beveridge Twenty-eighth General
Assembly Election of Oglesby to the Senate Laws
Parties and Platforms in 1874 Twenty-ninth Gen-
eral Assembly Haines Speaker Laws The Cen-
tennial Year Conventions, Platforms, and Elections
of 1876, . 818
CHAPTER XLIV.
Administration of Gov. Cullom Thirtieth General Assem-
blyElection of David Davis to the United - States
Senate Laws Labor Strikes Politics in 1878
Elections Thirty-first General Assembly, . 841
CHAPTER XLV.
Progress Gov. Cullom's Second Administration Thirty-
second General Assembly Laws Politics in 1882
Thirty -third General Assembly Election of Cullom
to the Senate, . ... 868
CHAPTER XLVI.
Administration of Gov. John M. Hamilton Temperance
Legislation Laws Labor Problems Riots in St.
Clair and Madison Counties Conventions, Platforms,
and Elections of 1884, 882
vi ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
CHAPTER XLVII.
Second Administration of Oglesby Thirty-fourth General
Assembly The Logan- Morrison Contest for United-
States Senate Special Election in the Thirty-fourth
District Laws Strikes Conventions and Elections
of 1886 Thirty -fifth General Assembly Election of
Farwell to the Senate, vice Logan deceased Laws-
Conventions and Elections of 1888, ... 900
CHAPTER XLVIII.
Administration of Gov. Fifer The Thirty-sixth General
Assembly Re-election of Cullom to the Senate Laws
The Drainage Commission Conventions of 1890
The World's Columbian Exposition Special Session
of the Legislature Laws Growth The Press
Literature, 924
CHAPTER XLIX.
The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Departments
Politics and Politicians Party Management Election
Statistics, 954
CHAPTER L.
Education The Common Schools Colleges, . 988
CHAPTER LI.
State Institutions Penal, Reformatory, Benevolent, 1013
CHAPTER LII.
Railroads in the United States Illinois Transportation
Companies The Railroad -and -Warehouse Commis-
sion, . ... 1041
CHAPTER LIU.
The Religious Denominations in Illinois Their Classi-
fication, Growth, and Strength Secret Benevolent
Societies, Masons, Odd -Fellows Knights Templars
Knights of Pythias, 1068
CONTENTS. Vii
Appendix Constitution of 1848, .... 1083
Constitution of 1870, . . 1105
Amendments to the Constitution of 1870, . . 1134
Genesis and Growth of Counties, . . . 1137
State Officers under Constitutions of 1848 and 1870, 1140
Judiciary, . ... 1142
Judges of the Supreme Court, .... 1146
Judges of the Circuit Court, .... 1147
Judges of Cook-County Circuit Court, . . 1152
Judges of Superior Court of Cook County, . 1152
Judges of Appellate Courts, .... 1153
Clerks of the Supreme Court, . . . 1153
Reporters of the Supreme Court, . . . 1154
Legislative Apportionments from 1818 to 1882, 1155
Members of the General Assembly, ist to 37th, 1163
Party Strength in Illinois Legislatures since 1855, 1189
Speakers of the House of Representatives, . 1190
State Boards of Equalization, . 1191
Congressional Apportionment of Representatives
from Illinois, 1195
United-States Senators, 1198
Representatives to Congress, . . . . 1199
Presidential Electors, -...__ 1204
Delegates to Republican National Convention, '60, 1205
Delegates to Democratic National Convention, '60, 1205
Receipts and Expenditures of the State, 1848-90, 1206
Value of Real and Personal Property, . . 1207
Popular Vote of the State by Counties, 1852-90, 1208
Popular Vote of the State since 1824, . 1212
Commanders during the War of the Rebellion of
Illinois Regiments and Batteries, aggregate
strength, and strength at muster out, and date
of final muster out Infantry, . . . 1213
Cavalry, . - . 1225
Artillery, 1227
Vlll ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Roll of Illinois Major - Generals, Brevet Major-
Generals, Brigadier-Generals, and Brevet Brig-
adier-Generals, " 1231
Losses of Illinois Regiments and Batteries :
Infantry, . . . 1235
Cavalry, 1238
Artillery, 1239
State Banks, 1241
State Property, . . . . . . 1242
County Officers for 1891, 1243
Index, ....... 1247
ILLUSTRATIONS:
VOL. II.
Allen, James C.
Allen, William J.
Anthony, Elliott
Arnold, Isaac N. .
Bate man, Newton,
Bates, Erastus N.
Benjamin, Reuben M.
Beveridge, John L.
Bissell, William H. .
Blackstone, Timothy B.
Blodgett, Henry W. .
Bogue, George M.
Bross, William
Browning, Orville H.
Bushnell, Washington .
Cable, Ransom R.
Campbell, Thomas H. .
Campbell, Thompson
Campbell, William J. .
Cannon, Joseph G. .
Catherwood, Mary H. .
Caton, John Dean
Carr, Clark E.
Colbert, Elias .
Collins, Loren C., jr. .
Conkling, James C. .
Cook, Burton C. .
Crafts, Clayton E. .
Cullom, Shelby M.
v Davis, David
Davis, George R. .
Dement, Henry D.
Dement, John
Dougherty, John
650
972
788
948
626
780
788
802
588
1042
972
900
762
644
780
1042
582
562
892
986
952
968
980
948
goo
762
644
940
840
852
936
878
788
780
Drummond, Thomas
Dubois, Jesse K.
Edsall, James K, .
Edwards, Cyrus
Edwards, Ninian W.
Edwards, Richard
Farwell, Charles B.
\ Field, Eugene .
Tifer, Joseph W. .
Foster, John W.
Fuller, Allen C. .
Fuller, Melville W.
Funk, Isaac .
Grant, Ulysses S.
Gresham, Walter Q. .
Gross, Jacob
Haines, Elisha M.
Hamilton, John M.
Harlow, George H. .
Harrison, Carter H.
Hatch, Ozias M.
Hay, Milton .
Haynie, Isham N.
Henderson, Thomas J
Hoffman, Francis A.
Hughitt, Marvin
Hunt, George
Hurlbut, Stephen A.
Ingersoll, Robert G.
James, William A.
Judd, Norman B. .
Kirkland, Joseph
Koerner, Gustavus
Lincoln, Robert T. .
- 972
626
. .824
998
- 582
892
. 916
952
- 924
948
. 650
972
- 562
Frontispiece
972
. 892
824
. 882
824
. 986
626
. 788
762
. 986
644
1042
- 844
980
- 650
878
- 644
948
. 582
980
IX
ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Lippincott, Charles E. .
Lockwood, Samuel D.
Logan, John A. .
Logan, Stephen T. .
McCartney, James j
McClernand, John A. '
McDougall, James A. .
McMullen, James C.
Mason, Edward G. .
Matteson, Joel A.
Matthews, Asa C.
Medill, Joseph
Miller, James
Miner, Orlin H. _
Moore, John
Morrison, William R. .
Moses, John
Moulton, Samuel W. .
Needles, Thomas B.
Oberly, John H. .
Oglesby, Richard J. .
Palmer, John M. .
Pearson, Isaac N.
Phillips, Jesse J. .
Poole, William F
Raab, Henry
Rauch, John H.
Ray, Lyman B. .
Reynolds, John P.
Richardson, William A.
Ridgway, Thomas S.
780
968
798
968
878
650
562
1042
948
582
932
788
626
762
582
986
1046
762
844
goo
714
774
932
650
952
878
998
932
940
562
824
Rinaker, John I. . . . goo
Root, George F. . . 952
Ripley, Edward P. . . 1042
Rummel, Edward . . 780
Scott, John M. 968
Shaw, James ... 844
Shepard, Daniel ... 932
Shuman, Andrew . _ 844
Slade, James P. . . . 844
Smith, George W. . . 824
Smith, John C. . . 900
Springer, William M. . 986
Swigert, Charles P. . . 878
Tanner, John R. 932
Thomas, Horace H. 892
Thornton, William F. . 560
Treat, Samuel H. . . 968
Tree, Lambert ... 980
Trumbull, Lyman . . 596
Turner, Jonathan B. . . 998
Upton, George P. . . . 952
Vance, Joseph W. . . 892
Washburne, Elihu Benj. - 980
Wells, William Harvey . gg8
Wentworth, John ... 562
Williams, John ... 644
Wilson, Edward M. . 940
Wines, Frederick H. . 940
Wood, John .... 626
Wright, John Stephen . 998
Yates, Richard ... 636
ILLINOIS, HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL,
VOL. II.
PERIOD VI. UNDER THE SECOND CONSTITU-
TION, 1848-1870.
CHAPTER XXXII
The Constitutional Convention of 1847, and its Work
Elections of 1848 Second Administration of Governor
French Sixteenth General Assembly Election of
Gen. Shields to the U.-S. Senate Laws Seventeenth
General Assembly Free-Banking Law First Home-
stead - Exemption Law Illinois - Central Railroad.
TLLINOIS, although in order of time the third State admitted
J- into the Union from the Northwest Territory, was the first
to revise and amend its organic law. Only six years had elapsed
when it was proposed to call a constitutional convention, but
the project then, 1824, was voted down in consequence of the
slavery issue, as has been already explained. Not only was the
first constitution found to be defective in many essential feat-
ures when considered as an instrument designed for the govern-
ment of a growing and transitional commonwealth, but it had
also come to be regarded with disfavor by the politicians of both
parties when viewed from a partisan standpoint. Democrats and
whigs were alike anxious for its revision the former that they
might get rid of the obnoxious supreme-court judges; the latter
that they might restrict the right of suffrage to citizens and
make all county officers elective by the people.
After the defeat of the call in 1824, although the advocates
of revision did not cease their efforts, they failed to secure the
passage ol a joint-resolution by the legislature submitting the
question to the popular vote until the session of 18401, and it
was again defeated at the election of 1842 by the narrow major-
ity of 1039.
36 553
554 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The legislature of 1844-5, submitted another call to be voted
upon in 1846, at which time the proposition carried by a vote
of 58,339 to 23,013.
Delegates were elected on the third Monday in April (iQth),
and the convention, composed of 162 members, assembled at
Springfield, June 7, 1847. It was an unwieldy body in point
of numbers, being larger than any of its successors, yet it con-
tained its full proportion of the best talent which the State
could furnish. Many of its members had already attained
merited distinction in the service of the State. Among these
may be mentioned the following: Archibald Williams, an able
lawyer, who had been a valuable member of the legislature and
was subsequently appointed a judge of the United-States dis-
trict court in Kansas; Francis C. Sherman, who had also served
as a law-maker and who afterward became a leading politician
in and mayor of Chicago; Zadoc Casey, who had been six times
chosen to congress; Walter B. Scates, who had formerly occu-
pied a seat upon the bench of the supreme court of the State;
Col. John Dement, an old ranger and for many years a member
of the legislature and more than once appointed state treasurer;
Cyrus Edwards, a distinguished member of the state senate
and a leading whig from Madison County.
Morgan County sent an able delegation composed of Samuel
D. Lockwood,* William Thomas,f Newton Cloud, and James
Dunlap.
Sangamon County also sent a strong delegation, at the head
of which was that eminent jurist, Stephen Trigg Logan. The
others were Ninian W. Edwards son of Gov. Ninian Edwards
an efficient legislator and public officer; James H. Matheny,
then an able young lawyer and at present the popular judge of
* Judge Lockwood came to the State from New York with Wm. H. Brown in
1818, and for thirty years had occupied a prominent and influential position, having
been on the supreme bench since 1824; and no man stood higher in respect of purity
of character, sound judgment, and eminent ability. He retired to private life in
1849, and died at Batavia, Illinois, April 13, 1874.
t William Thomas came to Jacksonville, Illinois, from Bowling Greeii Kentucky,
in 1826. His abilities were soon recognized by the people, who frequently returned
him to the general assembly, where he proved an intelligent, safe, and reliable legis-
lator. He still (August, 1889,) survives at the age of 86 years, an upright and hon-
ored citizen, who has accomplished much in his day and generation for the good oi
the State.
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1847. $55
his county to which position he has been four times elected;
and John Dawson previously a member of four general assem-
blies.
Among other distinguished members may be mentioned:
Thomas A. Marshall, Richard B. Servant, and John D. White-
side. Of those who sat in that convention, the following mem-
bers were afterward elected to congress; James W. Singleton,
Jesse O. Norton, Stephen A. Hurlbut, James Knox, Abner C.
Harding, Anthony Thornton, and Willis Allen also to the
bench, Thompson Campbell; and the following as circuit judges:
Henry M. Wead, David M. Woodson, David Davis later pro-
moted to the bench of the U.-S. supreme court and still later
chosen U.-S. senator, Wm. A. Minshall, Alexander M. Jenkins,
Onslow Peters, and Chas. H. Constable. John M. Palmer of
Macoupin County, was subsequently elected governor, and David
L. Gregg, of Cook County, secretary of state. Among the dele-
gates who afterward became prominent in state politics as mem-
bers of the legislature were Wm. R. Archer and Wm. A. Grim-
shaw of Pike County, George W. Armstrong of LaSalle, Nathan
M. Knapp of Scott, Linus E. Worcester of .Greene, Samuel
Snowden Hayes of White, Selden M. Church of Winnebago,
and Henry E. Dummer of Cass County.
Although party lines were riot strictly drawn in the selection
of delegates, the democrats were careful to maintain in the
convention the supremacy which they held in the State, elect-
ing 92 out of the 162 members. Newton Cloud was chosen presi-
dent of the convention, Henry W. Moore, secretary, and John
A. Wilson, sergeant-at-arms. It soon became apparent that the
members intended to proceed deliberately and to make a thor-
ough revision of the old constitution. The declaration of funda-
mental principles in the Bill of Rights was, however, copied
almost verbatim from the old instrument the only changes
therein being those providing that the military shall be in strict
subordination to the civil power, that "no soldier in time of
peace shall be quartered in any house without consent of the
owner, nor in time of war, except in manner prescribed by law;"
and the addition of a section prohibiting dueling.
The tendency of popular thought and sentiment in this coun-
try has always been to curtail the powers of the legislative
556 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
branch of the government, while enlarging those of the people.
It is therefore not surprising that the most exciting and inter-
esting discussions in the convention were those relative to the
definition of governmental powers and the regulation of the
elective franchise, these being, as it must be remembered, the
prevailing issues between the two dominant parties.
The debates in many instances were somewhat heated and
the speakers indulged in offensive personalities, notably in the
discussion between Messrs. Thompson Campbell and O. C.
Pratt of Jo Daviess County, which resulted in a mutual agree-
ment between these gentlemen to submit the issue to the arbit-
rament of the sword or pistol on the field of honor near St.
Louis. The intervention of the police prevented any effusion
of blood, but only a miraculous interposition could have checked
the effervesence of mutual spleen which found an outlet in a
wordy but harmless correspondence.
In providing for the election by the people, of the judges of
the supreme court, as well as of all the state officers, the con-
vention went much farther than had been anticipated. This
innovation upon the ancient and stereotyped methods of judi-
cial appointments by the governor or legislatures of the respec-
tive states, was initiated by the State of Georgia in an amend-
ment to her constitution in 1812, providing that the justices of
the inferior courts should be elected for a term of four years by
the people, the selection of the judges of the supreme court
being still confided to the general assembly. The first consti-
tution of Indiana, 1816, provided that the judges of the supreme
court should be appointed by the governor and confirmed by
the senate; the presidents of the circuit-courts to be chosen by
the legislature, and the two associate circuit-judges elected by
the people of the several counties. Georgia, in her second con-
stitution adopted in 1832, was also the first state to take from
the governor or general assembly the power of appointing su-
preme and circuit-court judges and give it to the people. The
next state to adopt the new system was New York, followed
by the then, new State of Iowa in 1846. Whether the change
has been a wise one admits of arguments on both sides, and
may be still considered a moot question. It has been followed,
since 1848, in the revisions of twenty-seven states. Virginia,
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1848. 557
however, in her constitution of 1864, returned to the method of
election by the legislature, as did Mississippi in 1868. The
judges are still elected by the legislature in the states of Rhode
Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and Georgia the latter hav-
ing returned to the old system. In eight states the judges are
appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the coun-
cil or senate, as follows: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hamp-
shire, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana and supreme court
judges only, in Mississippi and New Jersey.
Another tendency in those states which have adopted ttte
popular elective system is, to extend the term of service of the
judges, especially those of the court of last resort, which has
been increased in New York from eight to fourteen years, in
Pennsylvania from fifteen to twenty-one years, in Missouri from
six to ten years, in California from ten to twelve, and in
Maryland from ten to fifteen years.
The powers of the general assembly were further curtailed in
the following particulars: that divorces should be granted only
for such causes as might be specified by general law, and not by
the legislature directly; that no extra compensation should be
granted to any public officer, agent, servant, or contractor, after
the service had been rendered or the contract entered into; that
no lotteries should be authorized for any purpose; that the
charter of the state bank, or any other bank heretofore exist-
ing in the State should not be revived or extended. Moreover,
remembering the financial embarassments into which the body
politic had been plunged by adopting a hastily-conceived sys-
tem of internal improvements the State was prohibited from
contracting any indebtedness exceeding fifty thousand dollars
and even that amount only "to meet casual deficits or failures
in revenue." Neither was the credit of the State "in any man-
ner to be given to, nor in aid of, any individual association or
corporation."
The features of an executive term of four years and the
ineligibility of the governor to an immediate reelection were
preserved. The cumbrous appendage of the first constitution,
called the Council of Revision, adopted from the State of New
York, was abolished, and in lieu thereof the governor was vested
with a qualified veto power.
558 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The advocates of a restricted right of suffrage, limiting its
exercise to white male citizens, as contradistinguished from
inhabitants, and thus disfranchising unnaturalized foreigners who
enjoyed that privilege under the constitution of 1818, succeeded
in engrafting upon the new instrument their favorite article. The
laws of the different states have not been at all uniform on this
subject new commonwealths have generally extended the priv-
ilege to all inhabitants. Actual citizenship is required in the
following states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia,
iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ver-
mont, Virginia, and West Virginia. In all the others citizen-
ship or a declaration of intention to become a citizen is neces-
sary. Kentucky is the only state requiring a residence of two
years; twenty -six require one year; eight, six months; one,
four months; and two, Michigan and Maine, three months.
The cry of economy and retrenchment in administering the
state government, which had been heard for so many years, led
the convention into the commission of its gravest error. This
was in attempting practically to limit the sessions of the general
assembly arbitrarily to forty-two days; the provision being that
two dollars per day for the first forty-two days' attendance, and
one dollar per day for each day's attendance thereafter, should
be allowed to the members as a compensation for their services,
"and no more." The time specified for a general session was
entirely too short, and the amount allowed members was alto-
gether too little. In fact, so distrustful was the convention of
the legislature that the former body determined to fix all
salaries of, state-officers and judges in the constitution, and all
of them at a parsimoniously low figure. Thus the governor was
given $1500; the supreme-court judges, $1200; circuit-judges,
$1000; state auditor, $1000; treasurer and secretary of state,
$800 each. These would have been absurdly low rates to fix
even by statute, which might have been amended in two years;
but to place them in the fundamental law, to remain irrevocably
fixed, was certainly either to invite its evasion or to stimulate a
desire for an early change. As will be seen hereafter, it was a
very ill-considered and costly attempt at economy and reform.
ELECTION IN 1848. 559
Thus have been mentioned the principal changes made by the
convention in the first constitution. It completed its work Aug.
31. The constitution was submitted to the popular vote at an
election held March 6, 1848, and ratified by the following vote:
for the constitution 59,887; against, 15,859. For Article XIV,
prohibiting free persons of color from immigrating to and
settling in the State, 49,060; against, 20,883. For Article XV,
providing for a two-mill tax, 41,017; against, 30,586. The new
constitution went into effect April I, 1848.
Perhaps the most important work done by the convention
was the adoption of Article XV providing for a two-mill tax,
the fund arising from which should be exclusively applied to
the payment of state indebtedness, other than canal and school
indebtedness.
The tendency in the public mind to honorably liquidate the
vast debt created under the internal - improvement system,
although there was still an active minority who favored repudia-
tion in whole or in part, was thus fastened, and the question
placed beyond the power of legislative tinkering.
A notable and interesting event relating to the personnel of
the convention of 1847 was a reunion of its surviving members
at Springfield on January 3, 1884. Thirty-one were still living
of whom the following were present at the meeting: David
Davis, John M. Palmer, Walter B. Scates, Augustus Adams,
Wm. A. Grimshaw, Wm. R. Archer, Montgomery Blair, M. G.
Dale, P. W. Deitz, Joseph T. Eccles, N. W. Edwards, Anthony
Thornton, Samuel Lander, James H. Matheny, W. B. Powers,
George W. Rives, Oaks Turner, James Tuttle, Edward M.
West, Linus E. Worcester, Alvin R. Kenner, George W. Arm-
strong. The following were not present, Wm. Thomas, O. C.
Pratt, E. O. Smith, John W. Mason, Alfred Lindley, the last
three of whom were unaccounted for. Harman G. Reynolds,
the assistant-secretary was also present as was the venerable
Albert Hale, who officiated as chaplain.*
There were four general elections held in the state in 1848,
* It is perhaps not unimportant in this connection to note the farther fact relating
to the personnel of the convention, namely, that of the members seventy-six were
farmers, fifty-four lawyers, twelve physicians, nine merchants, four mechanics, three
clerks, one a professor, one a miller, one a minister, and one an engineer.
560 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
as follows: upon the question of the adoption of the constitu-
tion, as above stated; the election of state officers in August;
the election of judges the first Monday in September (3); and
the presidential election in November; but under the constitu-
tion of 1848, and ever since that year, all general, state, and
presidential elections have been held at the same time, namely,
on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November.
As the power of the people had been extended to the elec-
tion of all state and county officers, increased interest and im-
portance was given to county and state conventions and to all
general elections. Counties had now the selection of their own
officers that privilege having been extended heretofore only
to the offices of sheriff, coroner, and county commissioners.
A democratic state convention to name "candidates for gov-
ernor and other state officers" was called to meet at Springfield
on April 24, which was duly convened and presided over by
Col. John Moore. There was no controversy over the first
officer to be nominated; the new constitution having cut short
the term of Gov. French two years, he was the unanimous
choice of his party for reelection. Wm. McMurtry of Knox
County was nominated for lieutenant-governor, the then incum-
bent, Joseph B. Wells having decided to run for congress in the
Galena district, where he was opposed and beaten by Col. E.
D. Baker. Horace S. Cooley of Adams County, was nominated
for secretary of state; Thomas H. Campbell of Randolph,
auditor of public accounts; and Milton Carpenter* of Hamil-
ton, state treasurer the three last-named candidates being the
then incumbents of the offices for which they were renominated.
The whigs, feeling that it would prove a hopeless task to
undertake the election of a state-ticket, decided not to call a
convention. Gov. French received 67,453 votes, while scatter-
ing votes were polled for Pierre Menard, Dr. Charles Volney
Dyer, and others, and for O. H. Browning, Henry H. Snow, and
J. L. D. Morrison, for lieutenant - governor.
The democratic national convention was held at Baltimore,
May 22, where Gen. Lewis Cass was nominated for president
on the fourth ballot, and Gen. Wm. O. Butler for vice-president.
* Mr. Carpenter died soon after his election and was succeeded by John Moore,
who was appointed by the governor to the position, August 14.
THE SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 561
The whig national convention called the "slaughter-house
convention," because of the defeat of so many great statesmen
met at Philadelphia, June 7. The admirers of Clay, Webster,
and Gen. Winfield Scott had to give way to those of Gen.
Zachary Taylor, who received the nomination for president on
the fourth ballot, having steadily gained from the first when, he
received 1 1 1 votes, to 97 for Clay, 43 for Scott, and 22 for
Webster. Millard Fillmore of New York was nominated for
vice-president, on the second ballot.
The whigs made a determined fight in the State for president
and came very near being successful the vote being for Cass
56,300, Taylor, 53,047 while Martin Van Buren, the candidate
of the free democratic convention, who was nominated at Buf-
falo, August 9, with Charles Francis Adams for vice-president,
received 15,774 votes. The whigs succeeded, however, in elect-
ing only one out of seven members of congress Col. E. D.
Baker, in the Galena district the old whig district, the seventh,
having been carried unexpectedly by Maj. Thomas L. Harris,
against Judge Stephen T. Logan. . At the election for judges
of the supreme court in September, Lyman Trumbull was elected
in the southern division, Samuel H. Treat in the central, and
John Dean Caton in the northern all democrats.
Although the constitution fixed the time of holding the
general election, including that for members of the general
assembly, on Tuesday after the first Monday in November, it
was provided by the schedule attached to that instrument that
the first general election thereunder should be held at the old
period in August. The whigs having no state ticket in the field
succeeded in electing but few members of the legislature.
Under the new constitution the general assembly was com-
posed of one hundred members seventy- five in the house and
twenty-five in the senate; and the time for the meeting of this
body was fixed for the first Monday in January, biennially. It
had been found under the old regime that but little business
was transacted in the month of December, especially during the
holidays, when most of the members returned to their homes.
The first Monday in January, 1849, upon which the sixteenth
general assembly convened, fell upon New- Year's day. There
was a marked absence of many old-time and familiar hangers-
562 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
on. There were no judges to elect, nor state officers, nor prose-
cuting attorneys. The people had relieved the legislature from
the discharge of this duty.
Zadoc Casey, who had been returned to the house a f ter an
absence of nearly a quarter of a century, was elected speaker,
receiving forty-six votes to nineteen cast for Richard Yates.
Mr. Casey had already had large experience as presiding officer
of the senate, in which capacity as to voice, impartiality, grace,
and dignity of bearing, he never had a superior in this State.
Nathaniel Niles was elected clerk, Harmon G. Reynolds and
Andrew J. Galloway assistants, and Samuel Ewing doorkeeper.
William Smith was chosen secretary of the senate, and I. G.
Davidson sergeant-at-arms. On the roll of the senate were to
be found the familiar names of Joseph Gillespie, Josiah Me
Roberts, John Todd Stuart after an absence of four years in
congress, Newton Cloud, Franklin Witt, Hugh L. Sutphin, Wm.
Reddick, Joel A. Matteson, John Denny, David Markly, and
Norman B. Judd. J. L. D. Morrison, Uri Manley, and Demp-
sey Odam had been transferred from a previous service in the
house. Among the new members were John P. Richmond from
Schuyler County, Hezekiah H. Gear, from Jo Daviess, and
William B. Plato from Kane.
Richard Yates, who had remained out a term, again appears
as one of the representatives from Morgan County. There were
also in the house the familar names of Usher F. Linder, Thos.
Carlin serving out the unexpired term of John D. Fry, N. W.
Edwards, Francis C. Sherman, Curtis Blakeman, Wm. Picker-
ing, and Samuel S. Hayes. The following members, afterward
conspicuous in congress and in state politics* appeared in this
session for the first time: William Kellogg, Abner C. Harding,
Edward Y. Rice, Cyrenius B. Denio, Ozias C. Skinner, Ebene-
zer Z. Ryan, Richard S. Thomas, John W. Smith, Dr. Philip
Maxwell, George W. Rives, and Col. Charles F. Keener from
Scott County.
One of the first things claiming the attention of the legisla-
ture after its organization, was to pass resolutions endorsing the
Mexican War and eulogizing its heroes; the next in order was
to ratify the choice of a democratic caucus in the election of a
United-States senator. There had been three candidates, Judge
fHt LIBRARY
OF THE
;VERSITY OF ILLINOIS
CONTEST FOR UNITED-STATES SENATOR. 563
Breese to succeed himself, Gen. James Shields, the battle-scarred
hero of Cerro Gordo, and John A. McClernand, then a member
of congress. The contest was exceedingly animated and close,
Judge Breese having largely the advantage at the start, but as
time wore on the general forged ahead and secured the prize
upon the second ballot. He received seventy-one votes in the
joint session on January 13, to twenty-six cast for Gen. W. F.
Thornton, who had been nominated by the whigs.
Gen. Shields and his friends celebrated his triumph in a grand
supper and ball, but as it afterward befell, his ambition "had
overleaped itself," the refrain to his anthem of joy turning
into a dolorous discord.
Upon arriving in Washington he found that a question had
been raised in regard to his eligibility. Having been born
in Ireland, he had come into the State when under age, and
claimed that he became a citizen by the naturalization of his
father; but a question as to the cor^e^tnqss of this position, hav-
ing been raised, although he had been -a voter and officeholder
in the State for many years, he concluded to make his final
declaration and take out his papers regularly under the clause
permitting minors to do so who had resided three years in the
State, previous to their arriving at full age. This was on Oct.
21, 1840, which at the time of his election left him eight months
short of the nine years citizenship required by the constitution
for eligibility to a seat in the United-States senate.
The general concluded at once that his opponent, Judge
Breese, whom he was in a few days to succeed, was the origina-
tor of the objection to his eligibility, and thereupon wrote him
an exceedingly hot, imprudent, and ill-advised private letter, in
which among other foolish things he stated "that if I had been
defeated by you on that ground [want of citizenship], I had
sworn in my heart that you never should have profited by your
success, and depend upon it, I would have kept that vow regard-
less of consequences." He concluded his angry effusion as
follows: "if, however, you persist in your course of injustice
toward me, and refuse this request, I here give you fair warn-
ing let the consequences fall on your own head I shall hold
myself accountable both before God and man for the course I
shall feel bound to pursue toward you."
564 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The sober, second thought of Gen. Shields told him he had
been hasty and injudicious in penning such a letter, and he
authorized two senators to call upon the judge and ask for its with-
drawal. But to this the latter would not consent, and on Feb.
26, published the letter with his comments in the National In-
telligencer, The general published a card in reply, in which he
endeavored to explain that the warning which had been con-
strued into a threat of assassination, merely meant an exposure
of character.
He having failed to establish the fact of his naturalization
while he was yet a minor, the committee of the senate to
whom his credentials had been referred were not long in coming
to a conclusion that he was ineligible to his seat, and their
report to that effect was brought in. Thereupon Gen. Shields
tendered his resignation, which, however was not accepted
by the senate, but the resolution declaring him ineligible was
adopted after a long debate without a division, March 15.
The legislature having adjourned, an interesting controversy
arose in the public press in regard to the power of the gover-
nor to fill the vacancy. Gov. French decided not to make any
appointment, but to call the legislature together again for the
purpose of choosing a senator. That body was convened Oct.
22, by which time the disability of Gen. Shields had been
removed through the lapse of time. The contest between the
three candidates which had been sufficiently warm in the first
instance was now renewed and soon became exceedingly bitter;
the hostility to Shields being greatly aggravated by the publi-
cation of his intemperate letter to Judge Breese. The candi-
dates were not far apart in the caucus, the first ballot giving
Shields 28 votes, Breese 21, and McClernand 18. The general,
however, succeeded on the twenty- first ballot, which stood,
Shields 37, Breese 20, and McClernand 12. Of course his
election by the general assembly followed in due time.
The prolonged and exciting discussion growing out of the
new acquisitions of territory under the treaty of Gvadaloupe
Hidalgo began at this session, and the opponents of the exten-
sion of slavery succeeded in adopting a joint-resolution, by a
vote of 14 to 1 1 in the senate and 38 to 34 in the house, in-
structing our senators in congress, and requesting our represen-
THE BLOODY-ISLAND DIKE CONTROVERSY. 565
tatives, to use all honorable means to procure the enactment of
such laws by congress as should contain the express declaration
"that there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude
in said territories, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." The reso-
lution was supported by all the whigs and a sufficient number
of democrats in each house to carry it.
Another subject which occupied the attention of the legisla-
ture was the controversy between Gov. French and the authori-
ties of St. Louis in regard to the construction of a dike from
Bloody Island to the Illinois shore. The formation of sandbars
in the Mississippi River opposite St. Louis threatened the diver-
sion of the channel of the river to its left bank and the destruc-
tion of the harbor of that city. Congress had been invoked
and had made an appropriation to improve and protect the
harbor, and St. Louis determined in pursuance of the plans of
the government, as was alleged, to construct a dike which would
force the current of the river to the St. Louis side. The gov-
ernor was induced to regard the work as an infringement upon
the rights of the people of Illinois. The papers of the period
were full of the controversy, and proceedings were held in the
courts to enjoin the prosecution of the work. The matter being
brought before the legislature and duly considered, the contro-
versy was finally adjusted by the passage of a resolution,
mutually satisfactory to the parties concerned, providing that
the city of St. Louis should be authorized and empowered to
complete the works then in progress upon condition that it
should guarantee the construction of a safe and commodious
highway over the dam or dike, the full right of way over which
should be secured to the public, and that said city should pro-
vide for the St. Clair-County Ferry-Company a landing on
Bloody Island free from all expense or damages. The work
was completed by Feb. I, 1851, as stipulated. And thus it
happened, that the city of St. Louis constructed at its own ex-
pense, within the jurisdiction of Illinois, a costly work of inter-
nal improvement primarily for the benefit of its own citizens
but ultimately, as the result proved, greatly to the advantage of
the people of this State, not only without the consent of the
latter but in the very teeth of their active executive and legal
566 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
opposition, for to this dike is due the growth of the thriving
and important city of East St. Louis.
It was at this session of the legislature that the course was
adopted in reference to internal improvements, which soon
became known and defended under the name of "State policy."
This was to refuse the granting of charters for the construction
of railroads unless the contemplated line began and ended at
some prominent town or city in the State. The question arose
upon the presentation of a resolution of the Indiana legislature
requesting that Illinois would incorporate a company for the
building of a railroad, to be called the 'Ohio and Mississippi,
which was to have its starting point on the Ohio River at Cin-
cinnati and terminate on the Mississippi River opposite St.
Louis. A long and exciting contest grew out of the question
of the adoption of such a policy, which was participated in not
only by the people living along the route of the proposed rail-
road, but by the press and capitalists of this and other states
as well. Meetings were held, at which the exclusive policy was
denounced in strong terms, and the governor was requested to
call a special session of the legislature for the purpose of enact-
ing a general railroad -law, which had failed of passage at the
regular session. Immense meetings were also held in the interest
of "State policy" the one at Hillsboro being attended by
12,000 people.
At the special session a general railroad-law was passed, but
it contained so many defective and objectionable provisions as
to render it practically inoperative. At the same time, the
joint-committee on railroads made a formal report which was
adopted by a vote of 43 to 27 in the house, and with but twa
dissenting votes in the senate, in which this peculiar doctrine
was set forth, as follows: "that the prosperity of a state con-
sists not only in the virtue and intelligence of a brave and
energetic people, in the richness of her soil and natural re-
sources, but also in the number and extent of her flourishing
towns, cities, and villages." "That any internal improvement
tending in its operations to impede the growth and prospects of
cities, towns, and villages, within our our own borders, ought not
to be encouraged." "That a railroad commencing at our eastern
boundary and terminating opposite St. Louis and also uniting
"STATE POLICY." 567
with continuous lines of railroad extending eastwardly through
our sister states would be immensely advantageous to St. Louis,
at the same time that it would impede the growth and prosper-
ity of the cities, towns, and other localities on the Illinois side
of the Mississippi River."
In the meantime, Judge Douglas and others of our public
men with a clearer vision had urged upon the people a more
liberal and comprehensive view, and showing that while prefer-
ence should be given to our own towns and cities, without doing
injury or injustice to others, the great interest of our State was
agricultural, and that must not be sacrificed for the smaller inter-
ests of localities. So that when the legislature of 1851 con-
vened, the friends of the project succeeded in passing the
charter of the Ohio-and-Mississippi Railroad/ Opposition still
continued, however, to the proposed line from Terre Haute to
St. Louis via Vandalia, and the advocates of a more liberal
policy were not finally successful in securing the desired legis-
lation until 1854.
The laws of general interest passed at the first session were
as follows: to establish the Illinois Institution for the Blind; to
regulate elections and provide for a return to the mode of
voting by ballot; for the loan of money at such rate of interest,
not exceeding ten per cent per annum, as the parties might
agree upon; for the construction of plank-roads; for the estab-
lishment of telegraphs; to provide for township and county
organization being the first law enacted on the new departure
in this direction.
The general assembly adjourned after pitting precisely the
forty-two days prescribed by the constitution, and the members
received the commendations of their constituents and the news-
papers generally for the satisfactory work accomplished by them
in so short a time. But it was not long before it was discovered
that a much longer time might have been profitably spent in
needed legislation; and the legislature was accordingly called
to meet in special session, Oct. 23 the governor specifying no
less than eleven different subjects requiring action, in addition
to the election of a United-States senator. Its action has been
already partly anticipated. In addition to the act to provide
for a general system of railroad incorporations, others of general
568 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
interest were passed as follows: an act to enable the auditor to
prosecute claims in favor of the State; to establish the juris-
diction of the circuit court; and amendatory of the revenue
laws. The extra session was a short one, lasting only from Oct.
22, to November 7.
The census of 1850 gave Illinois a population of 851,470, an
increase of twenty-nine per cent over 1845, and of nearly eighty
per cent over 1840. She had advanced, in point of numbers at
least, from the fourteenth State to the eleventh. The Illinois-
and-Michigan Canal, instead of being a tax upon her resources,
had been completed and was earning a revenue of over $40,000
per annum, toward the discharge of the debt created for its
construction. She had two lines of railroad, the old Northern-
Cross, now called the Sangamon-and-Morgan, from Meredosia
to Decatur; and the Galena-and-Chicago Union, from Chicago
to Elgin. The revenue laws were producing a fund for the
liquidation of the State debt, and for the first time in over
twenty years, auditor's warrants were nearly at par, the ordinary
revenue being sufficient to meet the current demands upon the
treasury. The electric telegraph, with its miraculous speedy
flashes of intelligence, began to affect the operations of business
by the introduction of new methods, stimulating new enter-
prises, and greater efforts all over the country.
The only state officer elected in 1850 was John Moore, state
treasurer, to fill a vacancy.
The seventeenth general assembly met on Jan. 6, 1851. John
M. Palmer, Joseph Gillespie, John Wood, Peter Sweat, and
Andrew J. Kuykendall were among the new members elected
to the senate. In the house, Wesley Sloan, Orville Sexton,
Zadoc Casey, Wm. Pickering, U. F. Linder, Richard G. Murphy,
Wm. Thomas, Ninian W. Edwards, and Robert F. Barnett, were
all the old members, or those who had previously served therein,
returned. Among those serving for the first time were Isham
N. Haynie, Sidney Breese, John E. Detrich, Wm. H. Snyder,
Philip B. Fouke, Samuel A. Buckmaster, Charles D. Hodges, J.
C. Winter, Nathan M. Knapp, James C. Conkling, Oliver L.
Davis, Charles Emmerson, Anthony Thornton, Oztas M. Hatch,
James W. Singleton, Joseph Sibley, John Hise, Jesse O. Nor-
ton, Aaron Shaw, and Thomas Dyer.
THE SEVENTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 569
The democrats had maintained their ascendancy in both
houses, and Sidney Breese, having received the nomination in
caucus over A. G. Caldvvell, as a recognition of past services in
the senate, to which he had failed to be renominated, was elected
speaker; Isaac R. Diller was chosen clerk, Wm. A. J. Sparks,
assistant- clerk, and Samuel B. Smith, doorkeeper all by
acclamation, the whlgs not deeming it worth while to make
any opposition. Wm. Smith was reflected secretary of the
senate and Edward A. Bedell, sergeant-at-arms.
The governor in his message referred to the short time allotted
for the session and the large amount of legislative action de-
manded. He stated the amount of the State debt, which had
been nearly all funded under the act of 1847, to be $16,627,509.
No general assembly can be credited with a greater amount of
important and far-reaching legislation than the seventeenth.
To begin with its political action; after no little debating, a
series of resolutions was adopted early in the session approving
the adjustment measures passed by congress on the slavery ques-
tion and especially rescinding the one embodying the Wilmot
proviso adopted at the last session. The principal acts passed
were as follows: to exempt homesteads from sale on execution
the first law on this subject; to prohibit the retailing of in-
toxicating drinks a prohibitory law for the sale of liquors in
less quantity than one quart, for the entire State; remodeling
and reenacting the township-organization act; to establish a
general system of banking, which was in its main features a copy
of the New York free-banking law, providing for a deposit with
the auditor of United States or State, stocks as a security for
their circulation under certain restrictions and limitations. Three
bank commissioners were provided for with power to examine
into the management of the banks, and required to render quar-
terly sworn statements regarding their condition to the auditor.
In accordance with the requirement of the constitution, this
law was submitted for popular approval at the November elec-
tion of 1851. It was adopted by a vote of 37,626 in favor of,
to 31,405 against the law not half the votes of the State,
however, being polled.
Notwithstanding the fact that the democratic party had been
opposed to banks, all the governors since 1834 having made
37
570 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
that opposition a prominent feature in their messages, and
although the democrats had control of the legislature by a pre-
ponderance of two to one, the measure was introduced by a
democrat and received the support of a majority of democratic
members. As many whigs, in proportion to their numbers,
voted against it as democrats. The bill was returned by the
governor with his objections, in which he very clearly set forth
its weak points, as they were subsequently admitted to be after
the law went into practical operation.
As a system of legitimate banking, it was without proper
checks and requirements relating to location, capital, and re-
demption, but as a system for furnishing a safe circulating
medium, it was well guarded and proved a success up to the
time of the rebellion in 1861. Although frequently called upon
to put up margins to make good the depreciated stocks deposited
as a security for their circulation, they so uniformly responded
that out of the one hundred and ten banks in operation at the
close of the year 1860, but fourteen had gone out of existence
either by voluntary withdrawal or forfeiture under the law. And
of these the securities had been found ample to redeem their
notes dollar for dollar in specie, with one exception, where there
was a loss of only three per cent.
By Jan. I, 1857, fifty banks had gone into operation, with a
circulation of $6,480,873, and by 1860, there were one hundred
and ten banks, with a circulation of $12,320,964, secured by
stocks of the par value of $13,979,973.
The leading argument in favor of the ratification of this law
by the people was the fact that the only currency in circulation
was that from other states, whose value could not be so readily
and certainly ascertained as that of banks which should be
supervised and whose issues should be guarded by our State
officers. And whatever the ultimate event, it must be conceded
that these institutions furnished a currency which was no small
factor in promoting facilities for trade during the unwonted per-
iod of prosperity upon which the people of the State now entered.
The law was subsequently amended in important particulars, and
curtailed of many of its objectionable features; and it may be
stated in its defence that the present system of national banking
the best that financial skill has been as yet able to devise
THE ILLINOIS-CENTRAL RAILROAD LAW. 5/1
is the outgrowth, with its defects eliminated, of this free, stock-
banking system.*
The financial revulsion of 1857, which followed upon the fail-
ure of the Ohio Life and Trust Company, while it exhibited
the worthlessness of the greater portion of the Illinois institu-
tions as banks of business, did not result in any material losses
to the people on their circulation. Over $9,500,000 of the $14,-
000,000 of stocks deposited to secure their circulation in 1860
were those of southern states, principally Missouri, Tennessee,
and Virginia; and when the National crisis of 1861 came, they
at once began to depreciate. Twenty-two banks were called
upon in November, 1860, to make good their securities. The
agitation of secessionists and apparent determination of several
southern states to withdraw from the Union gave rise to a feel-
ing of financial uncertainty with resulting disorders throughout
the land. Only the bills of those banks which were based upon
northern securities passed current, and these were rapidly with-
drawn from circulation, while those less favorably secured passed
from hand to hand with "a nervous precipitancy which showed
the general distrust in their value." Those bills which were
quoted bankable one day were thrown out the next, and no one
could tell when he laid down at night whether or not he would
have enough current money in the morning to pay for his break-
fast. It was a trying time for bankers, especially those who
held large deposits, the payment of which was variously com-
promised by a discount of ten to thirty per cent. By Novem-
ber, 1862, only twenty-two solvent banks were reported, while
ninety-three had suspended or gone out of business. The banks
in liquidation had paid on their circulation all the way from
par to as little as forty-nine cents on the dollar, the average
being about sixty, involving a loss of nearly $4,000,000. But
* It was found, however, that the circulation of the Illinois banks did not afford a
sufficient volume of currency for business wants. To avoid inconvenient presenta-
tion of the bills for redemption, they were sent into, and so far as possible circulated
in other states, while the bills of other states, for the same reason were brought here.
The great variety of currency afloat in 1855-6 is shown in the amount received by a
railroad conductor on the C., B. & Q. R. R. during one trip. The total sum was
$203 which came from twenty-three different banks, of which Georgia furnished
$115, New York $11, Iowa $5, Virginia $5, Tennessee $5, Indiana $5, Wisconsin
$6, Ohio to, Michigan $10, Connecticut $5, Maine $5, Illinois $21. Andreas'
" History of Chicago, " I, 547.
5/2 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
this was so generally distributed and was so amalgamated with
current trading as not to work any particular hardship or retard
the prosperity of the people.
To return to the legislature of 1851: It was not only respon-
sible for the banking law having so important an influence upon
the financial interests of the State, but on the other hand was en-
titled to credit for that act, pregnant with vastly more momen-
tous results, the incorporation of the Illinois- Central Railroad
Company. The facts and events which preceded and led up
to this action form an exceedingly interesting chapter in the
.history of the State.
The building of the Illinois-Central Railroad was first sug-
gested by William Smith Waite, an old and valued citizen
of Bond County, and given to the public in a letter setting
forth its importance and feasibility from Judge Sidney Breese
to John York Sawyer in October, 1835, and there had been
no time since the collapse of the internal-improvement scheme
of 1837, of which it was a part, during which its construc-
tion had been entirely abandoned. In March, 1843, the
Great-Western Railroad Company was incorporated, having for
its object the building of the road as originally contemplated
upon certain conditions specified in the charter: but the incor-
porators being unable to effect any satisfactory arrangement
looking toward successful results, although some work was done
and considerable money expended, the enterprise was aban-
doned and the law repealed in 1845. ^ was m response to a
memorial from the Great- Western Company that the first bill
in congress was introduced on the subject by Hon. Wm. Wood-
bridge, senator from Michigan. It granted to this company not
only the right of way, but the right of preempting the public
lands through which the proposed line was to pass. It was
championed by Judge Breese, and passed the senate May 10,
1844. Having been sent to the house, the Illinois delegation,
headed by Judge Douglas and Gen. Me Clernand, refused to
support it, on the ground that the grant of lands, in whatever
shape made, should be conferred upon the State and not upon
"an irresponsible private corporation."
At the next session of congress, Jndge Breese introduced a
bill granting the right of preemption to the State of Illinois
THE CONGRESSIONAL GRANT OF LAND. 573
instead of to the company; but it being the short session, the
bill failed to pass.
On Jan. 15, 1846, Judge Breese, having in the meantime been
appointed chairman of the committee on public lands, intro-
duced a bill granting to the State certain alternate sections of
public lands to aid in the construction, not only of the Illinois-
Central but the Northern-Cross railroads, in favor of which he
made an able and interesting report, but did not urge the adop-
tion of the measure, owing, he said, to a lack of sympathy on
the part of the Illinois house-members, with the exception of
Hoge and Baker.
At the next session, 1847, Judges Breese and Douglas were
in the senate together, when the former again introduced his
preemption bill, insisting that capitalists preferred that kind of
cession rather than an absolute grant to the State. A confer-
ence between the senators failed to reconcile their views one
preferring the preemption, the other, the donation plan. On
Jan. 20, 1848, Judge Douglas, failing in his effort to persuade
his colleague to make the proposed changes in his bill, intro-
duced his own for a grant of land to the State to aid in the con-
struction of a railroad from Chicago to the Upper Mississippi,
and from Cairo to Chicago. The latter bill passed the senate
by a large majority, Judge Breese foregoing his own plan and
yielding his support to his colleague's -bill for the sake of har-
mony. It was, however, defeated in the house by two majority,
notwithstanding the earnest efforts of the Illinois members
Robert Smith, John A. McClernand, Orlando B. Ficklin, John
Wentworth, Wm. A. Richardson, Thos. J. Turner, and Abraham
Lincoln to secure its passage.
At the next session Dec. 20, 1848 Judge Douglas again
introduced his measure, which had failed of passage in the house
at the preceeding session; but the original bill having been
reinstated on the calendar of that body, its passage was not
urged in the senate. While the contest was going on in the
house, Judge Breese again presented his preemption scheme, to
which Judge Douglas gave his reluctant consent, inasmuch as,
he said, he was satisfied that in no event could it be carried
through the house. It passed the senate without serious oppo-
sition, but when reported in the house it was so violently
574 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
assailed by Samuel F. Vinton of Ohio, that the senate was
induced to recall it and no farther action was taken in regard
to it; this ended Judge Breese's connection with the subject as
a member of congress.
In the meantime the promoters of and parties interested in
the Great- Western Railroad Company were not passive obser-
vers of these several efforts to secure congressional action in
favor of a grant of Illinois lands, and supposing that the bill
which had passed the senate in 1848 would certainly succeed in
the house, proceeded to invoke legislative action at home. On
Feb. 9, 1849, the old charter was renewed and extended to the
Cairo City and Canal Company. This was known as the Hoi-
brook charter, and the object of the incorporators was to secure
the benefit of whatever land-grant congress might make to the
State. The act was passed on the very day on which the vote
was taken upon the land -grant bill of Judge Douglas in the
lower house of congress, its defeat not being anticipated. Sen-
ator Douglas visited Springfield soon after, and upon an exami-
nation of the manuscript of the law, it having not yet been
printed, he discovered the fact that a clause had been surrepti-
tiously inserted into the bill conveying to the company all the
lands which should be granted to the State of Illinois to aid in
the construction of railroads. Upon being interrogated by the
senator, the governor, secretary of state, and members of the
legislature all denied any knowledge of the clause in the act,
and it has always remained a mystery how it came to be inter-
polated. Douglas denounced the act in unmeasured terms, and
at the next session of congress, upon being urged by Holbrook
to reintroduce his bill, threatened that unless his company
released its charter he would offer a bill providing for an en-
tirely different route, and make it a condition that the grant
should not inure to the benefit of any railroad company then in
existence.*
All rights under the Holbrook charter were duly released
and surrendered to the State by the president of the company,
Dec. 24, 1849; an d subsequently, at the session of 1851, this
release was accepted by law, and the former act of 1843 repealed.
To recur again to the action of congress: at the session of
* Judge Douglas' statement in "The Public Domain," 262.
CONGRESSIONAL ACTION. 575
1849, the senate bill having failed in the house, as before stated,
it was necessary to begin anew; and upon consultation between
Senators Douglas and Shields and the Illinois members of the
house, it was determined to disconnect the proposed grant from
any cross-road, and to confine it to the Illinois Central. The
bill as finally passed was introduced by Judge Douglas, Jan. 3,
1850. Having failed so often in the house, new and powerful
opposition had been aroused against it in the senate Senators
Jefferson Davis and Henry S. Foote of Mississippi, and Wm,
R. King and Jeremiah Clemens of Alabama, had become
afflicted with constitutional scruples in regard to it and it was
now necessary to meet this phase of objective effort. Knowing
that work on the Mobile-an-d-Ohio Railroad had been stopped
for want of means, Judge Douglas conceived the idea of includ-
ing that enterprise with the Illinois Central. On the pretence of
visiting his children's plantation, he proceeded to Mobile and
secured an interview with the president and directors of that road
and then submitted his proposition, which was gladly accepted.
Douglas then informed them of the opposition of their senators,
and that to secure the support of the latter it would be necessary
to have them instructed by the legislatures of their states. Such
action the parties interested thought they had sufficient influence
to procure and entered heartily into the project. The instructions
came by telegraph in due time, first from Alabama and then
from Mississippi. The senators at first stormed and swore, but
when letters and written instructions arrived, they came to the
judge and asked his assistance; he consented to amend the
.bill as they desired, so as to include the Mobile-and-Ohio Rail-
road, and what might have become a formidable opposition hav-
ing been thus changed into active support, the bill passed the
senate and was sent to the house.
While there had always been more or less opposition to the
passage of the bill in the senate, which required skilful manage-
ment to overcome, it was in the house, where a majority had
always been found against it, that the hardest work was re-
quired to secure success. The members from Illinois at this
itime were Wm. H. Bissell, John A. Me Clernand, Timothy R.
Young, John Wentworth, William A. Richardson, Edward D.
Baker, and Thomas L. Harris, all of whom did more or less
5/6 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
earnest and effectual work to secure the passage of the bill.
Perhaps the most active of all these was John Wentworth. He,
more than any other, foresaw and realized the great benefit the
building of this proposed road would be to Illinois and espec-
ially to the young city of Chicago. He effected trades to secure
votes and made combinations in its favor, many of which were
only known to himself, but they were efficient and proved to be
controlling. It was found that some of the holders of the canal-
bonds were also holders of other state-bonds, and as they were
mostly residents of the older states and members of the whig
party whence came the chief opposition to the proposed grant, it
occurred to Mr. Wentworth, as he claimed, that he could secure
the influence of bond-holders in favor of the bill. The cooper-
ation of the great Webster, then secretary of state, was sought
and his valuable advice taken. The whigs wanted an increase
of tariff duties and needed recruits to their numbers. They
said to Wentworth, who was a democrat but not afraid of the
tariff, "let us act in concert." He replied, "you know what we
Illinois men want lead off."
The following graphic account of the final passage of the bill
in the house is given in the words of Judge Douglas:*
" When the bill stood at the head of the calendar, Mr. Harris
moved to proceed to clear the speaker's table, which was carried.
We had counted up and had fifteen majority for the bill, pledged
to its support. We had gained votes by lending our support
to many local measures. The house proceeded to clear the
speaker's table, and the clerk announced 'a bill granting lands
to the State of Illinois.' A motion was immediately made by
the opposition which brought on a vote, and we found ourselves
in a minority of one. I was standing in the lobby, paying
eager attention, and would have given the world to be at
Harris' side, but was too far off to get there in time. It was
all in an instant, and the next moment a motion would have
been made which would have brought on a decided vote and
defeated the bill. Harris, quick as thought, pale, and white as
a sheet, jumped to his feet and moved that the house go into
committee of the whole on the slavery question. There were
fifty members ready with speeches on this subject, and the
* "The Public Domain," 263; see statement attributed to him.
EXTENT OF THE GRANT TO ILLINOIS. S77
motion was carried. Harris came to me in the lobby and asked
me if he had made the right motion. I said, 'yes,' and asked
him if he knew what was the effect of his motion. He replied
that it placed the bill at the foot of the calendar. I asked him
how long it would be before it came up again. He said not
this session, that it was impossible, there being ninety-seven
bills ahead of it. Why not then have suffered defeat? It
turned out better that we did not. I then racked my brains
for many nights to find a way to get at the bill, and at last it
occurred to me that if the same course was pursued with other
bills it would place them likewise in turn at the foot of the
calendar, and thus bring the Illinois bill at the head again. But
how to do this was the question. The same motions would
each have to be made ninety-seven times, and while the first
motion might be made by some of our friends, it would not do
for us or any warm friend of the bill to make the second.
" I finally fixed on Mr. ,* a political opponent but per-
sonal friend, who supported the bill without caring much whether
it passed or not, as the one to make the second motion to go
into committee of the whole as often as it was necessary. He
agreed to it as a personal favor to me, provided , whom
he hated, should have no credit in case of its success. Harris
then in the house, sometimes twice in the same day, either made
or caused to be made the first motion, when Mr. would
immediately make the second. They failed to see the point,
and the friends of other bills praised us and gave us credit for
supporting them. Finally by this means the Illinois bill got
to the head of the docket. Harris that morning made the first
motion. We had counted noses and found, as we thought, that
we had twenty-eight majority, all pledged. The clerk an-
nounced 'a bill granting lands to the State of Illinois.' The
opposition again started, were taken completely by surprise;
said there must be some mistake, as the bill had gone to the
foot of the calendar. It was explained and the speaker declared
it all right. The motion to go into committee of the whole by
the opposition was negatived by one majority, and the bill
passed by three majority." -f
* George Ashmun of Massachusetts, as suggested by Mr. Wentworth.
f This is an error. The vote on the passage of the bill was 101 yeas to 75
5/8 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The bill, which had passed the senate May 2, and thus passed
the house on Sept. 17, was entitled "An act granting the right
of way and making a grant of land to the States of Illinois,
Mississippi, and Alabama, in aid of the construction of a rail-
road from Chicago to Mobile," became a law Sept. 20, 1850
This act ceded to the State of Illinois, subject to the disposal
of the legislature thereof, for the purpose of aiding in the con-
struction of a railroad "from the southern terminus of the
Illinois -and -Michigan Canal to a point at or near the junc-
tion of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, with a branch of the
same to Chicago, and another via the town of Galena, in said
State, to Dubuque, Iowa, every alternate section of land desig-
nated by even numbers, for six sections in width on each side
of said road and branches." The lands were to be disposed of
only as the work progressed, and the road was to be completed
in ten years, or the State must pay the proceeds of all sales to
the United States and lose the unsold lands. The grant aggre-
gated 2,595,000 acres, being at the rate of 3700 acres per mile
of the proposed road.
Upon the opening of the session of 1851, Gov. French trans-
mitted to the legislature the memorial of Robert Schuyler,
George Griswold, Governeur Morris, Jonathan Sturges, Thomas
W. Ludlow, and John F. A. Sandford of New- York City, and
David A. Neal, Franklin Haven, and Robert Rantoul, jr., of
Boston, proposing to form a company to build the road, on
certain specified conditions, by July 4, 1854.
Several bills were introduced on the subject, embodying dif-
ferent plans, in both houses; but that which finally became the
law for the construction of the road was introduced by James
L. D. Morrison, senator from St. Clair County. It passed the
senate Feb. 6, and the house four days later. The Illinois-
Central Railroad Company was organized and accepted the
terms of the law the same day. These were, in brief, that in
consideration of the cession of the lands granted to the State
the company would construct the proposed railroad, within a
specified time, and pay to the State seven per cent of its gross
annual earnings.
nays. Mr. Wentworth, in conversing with the author on this subject, did not in
all respects agree with this account attributed to Judge Douglas, stating that it
contained inaccuracies which the record failed to support.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE ILLINOIS-CENTRAL. S79
Roswell B Mason* of Bridgeport, Conn., was appointed chief
engineer, and the first portion of the line, from Chicago to
Kensington, then called Calumet, was placed under contract.
The main line from Cairo to LaSalle, 300.99 miles, was com-
pleted June 8, 1 85 5 ; the Galena branch, from LaSalle to Dunleith,
146.73 miles, Jan. 12, 1855; the Chicago branch, from Chicago
to the junction with the main line, 249.78 miles, Sept. 26, 1856.
The road was laid out through the wildest and most sparsely
populated portions of the State, where deer and other wild
game roamed at will; over "boundless prairies, where neither
tree nor house were to be seen sometimes for twenty miles; and
along the entire route of 705 miles it did not pass through a
dozen towns of sufficient importance to be known on the map
of the State.
While the grant was a munificent one in its direct advantage
to the State, the indirect benefits resulting therefrom were no
less marked and apparent. Of the lands donated, there have
been sold 2,454,214 acres to 32,000 actual settlers, who at a low
estimate must have added 200,000 persons to the population of
the State. The sale of railroad lands stimulated also the sale
of the alternate sections owned by the government, which for
over twenty years had been on the market without a purchaser.
The seven per cent of the gross annual earnings, which the
State receives from the company, amounted in 1856 to $77,631,
and for the next thirty years to $9,828,649, averaging $327,-
621 each year; a sum nearly sufficient to pay the ordinary
expenses of the State government.
It is an interesting fact to notice that Douglas and Shields in
the senate, and McClernand and Baker in the house, who were
in congress when the land-grant bill passed, and Lincoln and
Robert Smith, who were active supporters of the measure at
the previous session, were members of the celebrated tenth
Illinois general assembly, at which was passed the great inter-
nal-improvement scheme, and for which they all voted. And
thus it turned out that whatever blame might attach to them
for errors of judgment and action on that occasion, was nobly
atoned for by their subsequent efforts in securing the passage
* Mayor of Chicago, 1869-71, and still living there, (August, 1889,) an honored
citizen.
580 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
of this law. Already more money has been paid into the State
treasury by the Illinois-Central Railroad than was taken out by
the adoption of the old internal-improvement system, and that
income will not only increase in the future but remain perpetual.
For this, if for no other public service to his State, the mem-
ory of the great Douglas was justly entitled to preservation by
the erection of that splendid monumental column, which, over-
looking the blue waters of Lake Michigan, also overlooks for
many miles that iron highway which was in no small degree
the triumph of his genius and legislative skill.
A special session of the seventeenth general assembly was
convened by proclamation of the governor on June 7, 1852.
Twenty-one different subjects for legislative action were speci-
fied, the chief of which was the reapportionment of the State
into districts for the election of the nine congressmen, to which
it was now entitled. The law for this purpose was passed June
1 6. No political chicanery was necessary in arranging the dis-
tricts, a democratic majority being unquestioned in all but
possibly one or two. It is interesting to note, however, that
for the first time the formation of the districts began at the
north end of the State, running across from Lake County to
Jo Daviess, and as indicating the shifting of population from
the southern counties, that four congressmen were given to
the northern part of the State, two to the central, and three
to the southern; and that while seven or eight counties in the
former contained a sufficient number of inhabitants for a con-
gressman, from nine to eighteen were required in the latter.
Numerous acts to amend charters of rail and plank-roads,
and of incorporation, were passed, but no law of any general
interest, unless it was the act to dispose of the swamp and over-
flowed lands which had been granted to the State by congress
in September, 1850. The legislature adjourned June 23.
Upon the expiration of his gubernatorial term, Gov. French
was appointed by his successor one of the bank commissioners.
Removing soon after to St. Clair County, he accepted the pro-
fessorship of law in McKendree College. In 1862, he was elected
a member of the constitutional convention, in which was his last
public service. He gave the people a faithful, business-like
administration, and retired from the executive chair with their
CONDITION OF THE STATE TREASURY.
5 8l
confidence and respect. He died at Lebanon, Sept. 4, 1864.*
The condition of the State treasury at the close of Gov.
French's term is shown by the following from the State treas-
urer's report:
Dr. ON ACCOUNT OF REVENUE. O.
Balance in treasury Dec. I,
1850, including deaf-and-
dumb fund, - - $28,578.41
From collectors, Dec. 1/50,
to Nov. 30/52, inclusive, 443,502.87
Miscellaneous items, - 6,083.77
Total, - - 478,165.05
Balance in treasury, - $146,372.36
Revenue warrants canceled
and deposited with audi-
tor from Dec. I, 1850, to
Nov. 30, 1852, $320,703.18
Education of deaf and dumb, IO, 706. 89
Old State-Bank paper and
interest, - - - 382.62
Balance, ... 146,372.36
Total, -
$478,165.05
Balance Dec. I, 1850, $165,788.81
Received from Dec. 1, 1850,
to Nov. 30, '52, inclusive, 492,166.53
Total,
Balance of State-debt fund
in the treasury, - $262,487.38
ON ACCOUNT OF THE STATE DEBT.
Canceled auditor's warrants
from Dec. i, 1850, to
Nov. 30, 1852, - $395,467-96
Balance, ... 262,487.38
Total, -
657,955-34
$657,955-34
* On the monument erected to his memory is inscribed the following rather
unique and perhaps not too eulogistic tribute to his worth: "A man true, kind,
and noble; a citizen just, generous, and honorable; a public officer upright,
philanthropic, energetic, and faithful; a husband and father affectionate, wise, and
good; a Christian humble, charitable, and trusting."
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Administration of Gov. Matteson Eighteenth General
Assembly Re-election of Senator Douglas Laws-
State and National Politics New Parties Nineteenth
General Assembly Election of Senator Trumbull
Prohibitory Liquor- Law The Common-School Law.
THE democratic convention for the nomination of State
officers met at Springfield, April 20, 1852. Besides the
delegates, there was in attendance a large number of spectators,
and as a nomination was considered equivalent to an election,
the candidates for the various offices to be voted for were
numerous. Seven distinguished citizens signified their willing-
ness to occupy the highest place on the ticket, and the votes of
the delegates were distributed among them on the first ballot
as follows: David L. Gregg of Cook County, then secretary of
state,* 84 votes; Francis C. Sherman, also of Cook, 23; Joel A.
Matteson of Will, 56; Col. John Dement, 53; Thomas L. Harris,
16; L. W. Ross, 7; Col. Daniel P. Bush, 6. Mr. Matteson, after
a spirited contest, was successful on the eleventh ballot, securing
130 votesj to 67 for Gregg and 50 for Dement.
Gustavus Koerner of St. Clair County, was nominated for
lieutenant-governor on the third ballot, receiving 132 votes to
113 cast for George T. Brown of Madison County. Alexander
Starne of Pike County, was nominated for secretary of state on
the seventh ballot; Thomas H. Campbell for auditor; and John
Moore for treasurer the last two for reelection.
The whigs held their convention which proved to be their
last July 7, having waited until after the holding of the
national convention, which convened at Baltimore, June 16.
There was not much enthusiasm manifested among the mem-
bers, and their candidates were all nominated by acclamation;
these were: for governor, Edwin B. Webb of White County;
for lieutenant-governor, James L. D. Morrison of St. Clair; for
secretary of state, Buckner S. Morris of Cook; for auditor,
* Vice Horace S. Cooley, who died April 2, 1850.
582
THt n-<"Y
OF tht
UHVERSIIY tr !lLi-:QIS
GOVERNOR MATTESON. 583
Charles A. Betts of Stephenson; and for treasurer, Francis
Arenz of Cass County.
The free-democrats, or, as they were generally called, aboli-
tionists, inscribing upon their banner "Free soil; free speech;
free labor; and free men," also nominated a ticket, with Dexter
A. Knowlton of Stephenson County, for governor, and Philo
Carpenter of Cook, for lieutenant-governor.
Both Webb and Morrison were well and favorably known in
the State, having served with distinction in the legislature, but
their party was unable to arouse any enthusiasm for the national
ticket, headed by Gen. Winfield Scott, against Gen. Franklin
Pierce, the democratic candidate, and the canvass on their part
was conducted without vigor or hope. The result in the State
was as follows: for Matteson, 80,645; Webb, 64,405; Knowlton,
8809; which was relatively nearly the same as the vote for the
presidential candidates, Pierce and Scott, and John P. Hale, the
free- soil candidate. The whigs elected four out of the nine
congressmen. , : 4 .'
Gov. Matteson was a native pf -N^w York, where he was born,
in Jefferson County, August 8, 1808. He had been a resident
of the State for twenty years, and had been engaged in farming,
as a contractor on the canal, a dealer in real estate, and a manu-
facturer. He was essentially a business man, of a practical turn
of mind, and of sound judgment. Although making no preten-
sions to state craft, and lacking that qualification deemed essen-
tial to its exercise in this country, the art of public speaking, he
was taken up by his party on account of the executive ability
he had displayed in private affairs, and sent to the State senate.
His ten years' service in this position had earned for him the
justly-deserved reputation of being an industrious and capable
legislator, and through it he had become thoroughly advised
of the resources, financial condition, and internal politics of the
State. Among his friends his standing was high, as that of an
enterprising, public-spirited citizen, of kindly, benevolent im-
pulses; while his party and indeed the public generally regarded
both his ability and character with respect. He was large in
person, and of quiet and agreeable manners. He was not only
the last democratic governor elected in the State, but the only
one of either party who, at the time of his election, resided
north of Bloom ington.
584 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Lieut.-Gov. Koerner was born in Germany in 1809, and emi-
grated to this State in 1833. He received a university educa-
tion, and was a lawyer of the first attainments. He had taken
a decided part in politics as a democrat, and was elected to the
legislature in 1842. In 1845, he was appointed one of the judges
of the supreme court. Upon the re-formation of parties in
1 85 5-6, he became a republican, and when the rebellion broke
out took a pronounced stand on the side of the Union. He
served for a short period on the staff of Gen. Fremont, and
in 1862, was appointed minister to Spain, which position he
resigned at the close of the war.
The eighteenth general assembly was convened January 3,
1853. But one whig, James M. Ruggles of Mason County, had
been elected out of the thirteen new senators, and he with
four "hold-overs" gave that party only five votes out of the
twenty-five in the upper house. Only sixteen whigs had been
elected to the house, and one "free-soiler," Henry W. Blodgett
of Lake County; all the rest were democrats. The house was
composed very largely of new members, only fourteen of those
who had occupied seats in previous legislatures being returned
to this. Among the old members elected were ex-Gov. John
Reynolds, Wm. H. Snyder, Samuel A. Buckmaster, Charles D.
Hodges, Richard N. Cullom, James W. Singleton, Joseph Sibley,
Wesley Sloan, and C. B. Denio. In the list of new members
appear the names of John A. Logan, Judge William Brown of
Morgan, James N. Brown, Samuel W. Moulton.
The officers of the house, as designated by the democratic
caucus, were elected by acclamation. These were: for speaker,
John Reynolds; clerk, Isaac R. Diller; assistant, F. D. Preston;
door-keeper, M. R. Owen; R. Eaton Goodell was chosen secre-
tary of the senate, and Edward A. Bedell, sergeant-at-arms.
Ex-Gov. Reynolds thus achieved the distinction never before
or since reached in this State by any other of its public men, of
having been placed at the head of the executive, judicial, mili-
tary, and finally of the legislative department of the State
government, besides serving eight years in congress an incom-
parable record of public service. Twenty- seven years had
elapsed since he had first occupied a seat in the house, and
on taking the chair he made a feeling allusion to his long and
varied service, in a few well-chosen remarks.
EIGHTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 58$
The general assembly met on January 3, and on the 5th,
according to action taken on the 4th, met in joint session for
the election of a United-States senator. Judge Douglas had
been a strong candidate for the democratic nomination for
president, and upon two ballots in the last national convention
had received the highest number of votes for that position. So
no time was to be lost, although there were a few grumbling
objectors, in apprising Illinois' eminent senator of the people's
continued confidence, by reelecting him to his seat in the senate.
The whigs cast their few votes for Joseph Gillespie.
Gov. French submitted his valedictory message on the 4th,
and the inaugural of Gov. Matteson, read by the clerk of the
house, was delivered on the loth. It was devoted to the dis-
cussion of state questions. He recommended the adoption of
a liberal policy in granting railroad charters, the adoption of the
free-school system, and the erection of a penitentiary at Joliet.
He also suggested the amendment of the State constitution in
the particulars of extending the period of legislative sessions,
and an increase of the compensation of public officers.
The principal questions which occupied the attention of the
legislature related to the subject of temperance, the banking
law, rival railroad routes, and conflicting claims of companies
asking incorporation. Four hundred and sixty laws were en-
acted, the greater portion of which were classed as "private."
Among the public acts were the following:
Prohibiting the issue or circulation of bank notes of a less
denomination than five dollars; which, being against public
opinion, was generally disregarded.
To prevent the immigration of free negroes into this State
the last lash of the pro-slavery whip over the people of Illinois.
Repealing the prohibitory quart law of the last session, and
reenacting all laws for the granting of license for the sale of
liquors.
Providing for the purchase of a lot, and the erection thereon
of the executive mansion, appropriating therefor $15,000, and
$3000 for furniture.
To incorporate the state agricultural society.
To apply any surplus funds in the treasury to the purchase
of evidences of State indebtedness.
38
5 86 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Providing for the sale by the auditor of the remaining lands
owned by the State, amounting to 128,954 acres.
The public debt reached its highest point January I, 1853,
from which time it began rapidly to diminish. The amount at
that time according to the governor was as follows: principal
debt and interest, $9,464,355; canal-debt and interest, $7,259,-
822, total $16,724,177.
The State had now entered upon the most prosperous period
of its development and progress, material, social, and political.
There was not a cloud to dim the sky of its onward career.
Its canal was in successful operation, railroads were extending
and opening up new fields of settlement and improvement in
every direction. Its revenue was rapidly increasing and the
new banks were affording a sufficient and satisfactory currency
for the increased demands of business. Three State institu-
tions the asylums for the Deaf and Dumb, the Blind, and the
Hospital for the Insane, all of them at Jacksonville, had been
successfully established ; education was receiving renewed atten-
tion from the people; a teeming immigration was pouring in
the better classes of citizens from other states and lands,
who brought with them not only large means, but improved
methods in husbandry, mechanics, and manufactures. New
farms were opened, and flourishing villages and cities, with
unwonted industries, sprang up as if by magic, where a few
short years before were seen only the wolf, the deer, and the
tall prairie-grass.
Nor was there a cloud to disturb the peaceful serenity of the
political sky. The compromise measures of 1850 had passed
through the fiery ordeal of universal discussion, and had met
with vindication through the endorsement of the two leading
parties of the country; and the defeat of the whigs in the late
presidential election had been so overwhelming as to leave no
ground for the ambitious hopes of their leaders. Not that the
popular vote had been so strongly against them, because that
indicated the existence of a powerful minority opposed to the
democrats, but the loss of power in twenty-seven states out of
thirty-one was as discouraging, as its tendency was demoraliz-
ing to the organization.
As on previous occasions, it was found that the legislature,
REPEAL OF THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE. 587
restricted to a session of forty-two days, had adjourned without
completing the business before it. The governor, therefore felt
constrained to reconvene the general assembly on Feb. 9, 1854.
Although laws sufficient to fill a volume of 259 pages were
passed at the special session, they were mostly classed as "pri-
vate" and related chiefly to incorporations. Only three acts
of public interest were passed: the legislative apportionment
law; providing for the election of a state superintendent of
public instruction; and authorizing the construction of the
"Mississippi and Atlantic Railroad."
The State steadily continued in its career of unprecedented
material prosperity and general welfare; and by this time had
approached the beginning of a new era in politics. The
democratic party, which had been in the ascendancy for so
many years, and had so lately secured its greatest victory,
had received a sudden and violent check in the passage by
congress of the Kansas -Nebraska bill in May, 1854. This
bill declared the Missouri Compromise of 1850 by which
slavery was restricted on the north to the line of 36' 30",
"inoperative and void," by reason of its alleged inconsist-
ency with the Compromise measures of 1850, and established
instead, the principle of popular sovereignty, that is, "that
congress should not legislate slavery into any territory or
state, or exclude it therefrom, but leave the people thereof
perfectly free to form and regulate their domestic institu-
tions in their own way, subject only to the Constitution of
the United States."
This proposition, originally introduced in the committee on
territories by Senator Dixon of Kentucky, and accepted by
Judge Douglas, who as chairman of the committee reported it,
came upon the country "like a clap of thunder in a clear sky."
The precipitation of this issue was immediately fatal to all
party organizations as then formed the old lines being effaced
or changed beyond recognition. The whig party existed there-
after only in name, and the democratic party, with greater cohe-
sive strength, while still able to maintain its esprit de corps,
unexpectedly found enrolled within its ranks many old and
leading whigs, while with equal surprise they found they had
parted company with many of their honored and trusted lead-
588 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
ers. The free sellers received recruits in large numbers from
both the old parties. There were hurryings to and fro, yet
some hesitated wondering where, as patriots, duty called, and
others as partisans, where it was their interest to go. The
agitation consequent upon the disturbance of the political
equilibrium manifested itself in the elections of 1854, and no-
where more strikingly than in Illinois.
Judge Douglas was not unaware of the effect which such a
measure might be expected to produce upon the country. He
clearly foresaw, indeed, that it would shake the faith of his party
in the north in his leadership, and imperil its prospects of
success. His personal friends were divided in opinion in regard
to the best course to be pursued. President Pierce, however,
backed by his cabinet, was strongly in favor of the proposed
action, and it is stated that the celebrated amendment repealing
the Missouri Compromise was drafted by himself.*
The senator thus found himself placed in this dilemma: he
must either champion a measure which his judgment did not
wholly approve, or surrender the leadership of his party. It
was only after long hesitation that he decided to take the leap
at this turning point in his political career; but having finally
reached a conclusion, he espoused the cause of repeal and
non-intervention with his usual dash and persistency. "j*
On his return to his home in Chicago he sought to allay the
* Hon. John Wentworth is the authority for this statement.
t The following letter to the author from Maj. George M. McConnel, formerly of
Jacksonville, now residing in Chicago, gives an exceedingly interesting account of
an interview between Judge Douglas and himself at this time. It even more than
justifies the position taken in the text
CHICAGO, Aug. 18, '89.
Hon. JOHN MOSES, Dear Sir: On the evening of the day in January, 1854,
when the famous protest by the Republican members of Congress against the " Kan-
sas-Nebraska bill " appeared in the New York papers, Judge Douglas called to see
Representative (afterward Senator) McDougall of California, and found only myself,
then a youth acting as a sort of secretary for McDougall. Mr. Douglas had known
me from my infancy, had been befriended by my father, and was quite on a familiar
footing in our family for years; hence was under no restraint with me * * and
talked of the Kansas matter freely and warmly. He said distinctly that he was not
the author of the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, that he believed it to have
come from a " higher source " but was interjected into the bill by Dixon of Ken-
tucky, with the support of a majority of the committee, against his strenuous oppo-
sition. That he opposed it first because he was not willing to extend slavery, was
m
OF m
V Oi : ILLINOIS
DOUGLAS REFUSED A HEARING. 589
feeling roused against him in a carefully prepared address
defending his course. The meeting called for this purpose in
front of North Market, was an immense one, comprising many
of the best citizens. But such was the bitterness of feeling
against him that he was allowed to speak only a few minutes
at a time. A tumult of groans and hisses greeted his first
remark; and this was continued with increased uproar, and
obstructive demonstrations for over two hours. It was a howl-
ing mob determined that the judge should not be heard. No
violence was offered, only that which proceeds from the throat
and lungs, but it was effective, and after vainly trying for two
hours to speak the crowd into order, the senator was compelled
to give way, angry and discomfited.
It was indeed a critical period for the democratic party, so
long in the ascendancy, but under the masterly leadership of
the "Little Giant," such was its splendid discipline, that although
impaired in numbers and efficiency by the defection of many
of its leading men both to the Americans and free soilers, its
organization was preserved intact.
The State fair was held at Springfield this year the first week
in October, and the occasion was taken advantage of by all
parties, to hold conventions and discuss before the large crowds
assembled the issues of the day. Here, where Judge Douglas
had always been popular, his friends rallied around him and
hostile to ihe institution " on general principles, " though believing the slaveholder
had political rights which the non-slaveholder could not legally question; and second
because he feared the policy of repeal would be fatal to the party with whose for-
tunes he had identified himself all his political life. But he had been over-ruled and
now found himself placed where he must choose either to champion a measure
which, though offensive to himself, was approved by the majority of the party of
which he was the acknowledged leader, or throw away that leadership and with it
the entire fruit of all his public career. " If I do this " he said, " I lose all hope of
being of any benefit to my country to say nothing of sacrificing my personal ambi-
tions because no one leader is powerful enough to resist a stampede of his party,
any more than one buffalo can resist a stampede of his herd. " " It's a terrible posi-
tion for me, my boy," he added, "but I'll do what seems to me best for all." He
showed strong feeling, rising and walking excitedly about the room, speaking vehe-
mently, and resenting both the merciless tyranny of his own party and the bad faith
of his opponents who had asked for delay in introducing the bill ostensibly for fur-
ther examination, but really, as it proved, to issue a pronunciamento which maligned
him personally and impugned his motives in a way which he said some of the
signers of the protest knew to be utterly false. * * G. M. McCoNNEL.
590 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
gave him a perfect ovation. He made, what was called his
great speech, October 3. It had been announced that Judge
Breese and John A. McClernand would be present to answer
him, but they failed to arrive in time. Mr. Lincoln, while not
in full sympathy with the methods of the ultra free soilers, was
as earnestly opposed to the extension of slavery as any of
them, and anticipating that no one of those advertised to meet
the Magnus Apollo of the Kansas-Nebraska bill would be pre-
sent, determined to be prepared to do so himself. He was
therefore at the judge's meeting, and replied to him the follow-
ing day, the judge in turn responding to Lincoln. Judges Breese
and Trumbull spoke the next day and were answered by
John Calhoun and^J. W. Singleton. These were all exciting
meetings and the enthusiasm of the friends of the respective
speakers rose to fever heat.
What was called an anti-Nebraska republican convention was
held at Springfield October 3. Twenty-six delegates only were
present, but unfortunately for the success of the movement, it
was called and managed by such extremists as Owen Lovejoy,
Ichabod Codding, Erastus Wright, and others, who had been
known not only as opposed to the extension of slavery, but as
abolitionists. Mr. Lincoln fearing the effect of this convoca-
tion, was not present, nor did he participate in its proceed-
ings, although his name was published as one of its appointees
upon the State central committee.
When the nineteenth general assembly convened Jan. i, 1855,
there were found but seven new names in the senate, and only
five old ones in the house Presley Funkhouser, Samuel W.
Moulton, Stephen T. Logan, John P. Richmond, and John E.
McClun. Of the lately elected senators, eight of them, John
H. Addams, Augustus Adams, George Gage, Waite Talcott,
John D. Arnold, Joseph Gillespie, John M. Palmer, and Wm.
D. Watson, were classed as anti-Nebraska men, and four, Wm.
H. Carlin, son of the ex-governor, Jacob C. Davis, Andrew J.
Kuykendall, and Hugh L. Sutphin, as democrats. James L.
D. Morrison was elected as a whig and supposed to be anti-
Nebraska, but after the organization he voted with the demo-
crats.
Never before had it been so difficult to classify politically
NINETEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 591
the members of the legislature. There were among them a
few old whigs, who still adhered to the name, gloried in it,
and were loath to surrender it; there were also straight demo-
crats, anti-Nebraska democrats, knownothings, free soilers, and
abolitionists. On the main question of the Kansas-Nebraska
issue the senate stood fourteen democrats and eleven anti-
Nebraska or inchoate republicans; while in the house there
were thirty- four democrats and forty-one in the opposition.
Abraham Lincoln had been elected a member of the house,
but upon ascertaining that a majority of that body would
be opposed to the election of Gen. Shields, or any regularly
nominated democrat, to the United -States senate, and that
their choice would probably fall upon himself, he declined to
receive his credentials. A special electidh was ordered and
although the anti-Nebraska ticket had been successful at the
general election in Sangamon County by 492 majority, and Mr.
Lincoln had received 600 majority, through lack of attention
and over-confidence, a democrat, Jonathan Me Daniel, was
elected in his place. Had not Lincoln, on the advice of friends
and in accord with his own judgment, taken this course, he
would probably have been elected senator upon such slender
threads hang the fate of empires.
Among the new members of the lower house were William
J. Allen, Wm. R. Morrison, George T. Allen, Henry S. Baker,
Chauncey L. Higbee, Lewis H. Waters, Amos C. Babcock,
Henry C. Johns, Thomas J. Henderson, Robert Boal, G. D. A.
Parks, Owen Lovejoy, Miles S. Henry, Thomas J. Turner, L.
W. Lawrence.
Thomas J. Turner of Stephenson County, who had served
one term in congress from his district, was elected speaker,
receiving 39 votes to 26 cast for John P. Richmond; Edwin T.
Bridges was elected clerk and H. S. Thomas, doorkeeper.
George T. Brown was elected secretary of the senate, Chas.
H. Ray, enrolling and engrossing clerk, and William J. Heath,
sergeant-at-arms.*
* List of the members of the nineteenth general assembly:
Senate: ^Augustus Adams, Kane; ajohn H. Addams, Stephenson; ajohn D. Arnold, Peoria;
Silas L. Bryan, Marion; James M. Campbell, McDonough; William H. Carlin, Adams; ^Burton
C. Cook, LaSalle: Anderson P. Corder, Williamson; Jacob C. Davis, Hancock; John E. Detrich,
Randolph; aGeorge Gage, McHenry; ajoseph Gillespie, Madison; Benjamin Graham, Henry;
592 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The election of a United -States senator was the principal
bone of contention, but that question was not reached for some
time, although frequent attempts had been made in the house
to fix a day therefor, the democratic majority in the senate
refusing to concur. Jan. 31, was finally agreed upon, but both
houses having adjourned over from Jan. 19 to 23, the preval-
ence of a remarkable snow-storm, which blockaded the roads,
prevented the return of the absent members and the securing a
quorum until Feb. 2. The election was then fixed for the 8th.
As had been anticipated, Mr. Lincoln was the choice of a
large majority of the anti-Nebraska members for senator. He
had been among the first, as well as one of the most able and
fearless opponents of the Kansas- Nebraska legislation to take
the stump and sound the note of alarm. In October, at Spring-
field, he had met Senator Douglas in joint discussion and had
followed him in Peoria and at other points.
Gen. Shields received the caucus nomination of the demo-
crats without serious opposition. Ten ballots were had in
the joint session before a result was reached. The first of
these gave Lincoln 45 votes, Shields 41, Lyman Trumbull 5,
Gustavus Koerner 2, and William B. Ogden, Joel A. Matte-
son, Wm. Kellogg, Cyrus Edwards, Orlando B. Ficklin, and
Gabriel R. Jernigan, Christian; aNorman B. Judd, Cook; Andrew J. Kuykendall, Johnson; Joseph
Morton, Morgan: J. L. D. Morrison, St.Clair; Uri Osgood, Will; Mortimer O'Kean, Jasper; ajohn
M. Palmer, Macoupin; ajames M. Ruggles, Mason; Hugh L. Sutphin, Pike; aWaite Talcott,
Winneoago; aWilliam D. Watson, Coles. House: *George T. Allen, Madison; William J. Allen,
Williamson; aAmos C. Babcock, Fulton; aHenry S Baker, Madison; Isaac R. Bennet, Morgan;
oRobert Boal, Marshall; J. Bradford, Bond; aSamuel W. Brown, Knox; Horace A. Brown. Scott;
William M. Cline, Fulton; ajames Courtney, Vermilion; aFrederick S. Day, Grundy; Jonathan
Dearborn, Brown; aW. Diggins, McHenry; aMathias L. Dunlap, Cook; aRobert H. Foss, Cook;
aGeorge F. Foster, Cook; Presley Funkhouser, Effingham; George W. Gray, Massac; Hugh Gregg,
Marion; aHenry Grove, Peoria; aBenjamin Hackney, Kane; Randolph Heath, Crawford; aMiles
S. Henry, Whiteside; aThomas J. Henderson, Stark; Chauncey L. Higbee, Pike; aErastus O.
Hills, DuPage; Benjamin P. Hinch, Gallatin; ajohn C. Holbrook, Randolph; George H. Holiday,
Macoupin C. C. Hopkins, Edwards; P. E. Hosmer, Perry; aHenry C. Johns, Macon; aAlbert
Jones, Coles; William C Kinney, St. Clair; "L. w. Lawrence, Boone; aWilliam L. Lee, Rock
Island; a Wallace A. Little, JoDaviess; aStephen T. Logan, Sangamon; aOwen Lovejoy, Bureau;
aWilliam Lyman, Winnebago; ajohn E. McClun, McLean; aThomas R. McClure, Clark; Lafay-
ette McCrillis. Jersey; Jonathan McDaniel, Sangamon; W. McLean, Edgar; Samuel H. Martin,
White; S. D. Masters, Cass; William R. Morrison, Monroe; Samuel W. Moulton, Shelby; aSamuel
C. Parks, Logan; aG. D. A. Parks, Will; aWilliam Fatten n e Kalb; aDaniel J. Pinckney, Ogle;
Finney D. Preston, Richland; J. M. Purseley, Greene; F. M. Raw'.ings, Alexander; aHenry Rfblett,
Tazewell; aWilliam C. Rice, Henderson; aThomas Richmond, Cook; Henry Richmond, Mont-
gomery; John P. Richmond, Schuyler; Thomas M. Sams, Franklin; aPort". Sargent, Carroll; Eli
Seehorn, Adams; aDavid Strawn, LaSalle; John Strunk, Kankakee; aHenry Sullivan, Adams;
aHulbut Swan, Lake; T. B. Tanner, Jefferson; Albert H. Trapp, St. Clair; aThomas J, Turner,
Stephenson; George Walker, Hancock; aLouis H. Waters, McDonough; aAlanson K. Wheeier,
Kendall. a Anti- Nebraska.
TRUMBULL'S ELECTION TO THE SENATE. 593
Wm. A. Denning, one each. Every member was present and
voted except Randolph Heath of Crawford County, a demo-
crat, who if present did not vote at any of the ballotings. That
was the nearest Mr. Lincoln came to being elected. Had the
five votes given to Trumbull been cast for him his success
would have been assured, as Gillespie who voted for Edwards,
and Babcock who voted for Kellogg, would have changed to
Lincoln and made his total one more than the constitutional
majority. But this was not to be. The five members who
had agreed to stand by Judge Trumbull in every emergency as
long as there was any possibility of his election, were Messrs.
Palmer, Cook, and Judd of the senate, and Allen and Baker of
Madison County, of the house all of them subsequently active
and leading republicans.
In the six following ballots Lincoln fell off to 36 votes, Trum-
bull increased to 10, and Shields reached 42. The friends of
Lincoln then endeavoured to adjourn the joint-session but
failed. On the seventh ballot the democrats changed to Gov.
Matteson giving him 44 votes. On the next ballot Lincoln fell
off to 27 votes, Trumbull grew to 18, and Matteson had 46.
The ninth ballot gave the governor 47, Trumbull 35, Lincoln
15, and Williams I.
It now becoming apparent that the choice must fall upon
either Trumbull or Matteson, Mr. Lincoln urged those who were
inclined to adhere to his waning fortune, to vote for Trumbull;
and this they did, excepting Waters, giving him on the next
and last ballot just the required 51 votes, to 47 for Matteson,
and one (Waters) for Williams.
Of the senators voting for Trumbull but three resided south
of Springfield; and of the representatives only six; thus mani-
festing for the first time the increased growth and preponderat-
ing influence in politics of the northern portion of the State.
Lyman Trumbull, who thus carried off the honors in the first
contest of that political revolution in Illinois out of which grew
the republican party, was born in Colchester, Conn., October
12, 1813. His family was among the most eminent in New
England, distinguished alike in public life, in literature and art.
His grandfather, Benjamin, was a chaplain and a captain in
the Revolutionary army; Gov. Jonathan Trumbull was the
594 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
personal friend and trusted adviser of Gen. Washington, and in
emergencies which called for the exercise of sound judgment
and rare discretion, the latter was wont to say: "Let us consult
Brother Jonathan." From this expression is said to have
originated the popular national designation applied to the gov-
ernment and citizens of the United States.
Lyman was educated at Bacon Academy, and set out in
life as a teacher. At the age of twenty he removed to Georgia,
and had charge of the Greenville Academy. Here he studied
law, was admitted to the bar, and decided to enter upon his
career as a lawyer in Illinois. He had now been prominently
before the people of the State for fifteen years; and while his
ability and integrity were generally acknowledged, he had at
first failed to command that popularity which his intellectual
preeminence might have secured for him in communities longer
established.
He was above the medium height, rather sparely built, and
with his clear cut features, his prominent forehead, made yet
more so by the constantly worn eye-glasses, had rather the
appearance of a college professor than of an active, political
leader. His manners were naturally reserved, his habits abste-
mious, and he lacked the geniality of temperament generally
characteristic of, and looked for, in the public men of his day.
As a representative in the twelfth general assembly, his views
on pending State issues were not in accord with those of a
majority of his party; and finally, as secretary of state, led to
the disruption of his official relations with Gov. Ford. These
unpropitious circumstances, engendering as they did personal
antagonisms, doubtless had their influence in retarding his
political career, he having failed to secure the nomination for
governor, as heretofore related, and being defeated in the race
for congress in 1846. In 1848, however, he was elected one of
judges of the supreme court, in which position he gained the
reputation of being an able and upright jurist. This office
he resigned in 1853, on account of failing health. He early
took a decided stand against the repeal of the Missouri Com-
promise, and had been elected a member of congress in the
Alton district, as an anti-Nebraska democrat at the last elec-
tion. As a speaker he was logical rather than eloquent, arrang-
LAWS STATE DEBT. 595
ing his points with remarkable clearness, and illustrating them
with a force and vigor at once entertaining and convincing.
This same legislature which inaugurated a radical change in
practical politics, by electing to the United-States senate for
the first time since 1841, a candidate who was not the nominee
of a democratic caucus, also adopted several sweeping measures
of political reform.
One of these was the law prohibiting the manufacture and
sale of intoxicating liquors in effect the Maine law on this
subject. It was however to be inoperative unless ratified by a
vote of the people at an election called for that purpose in
June, at which time it was defeated.
Another of these measures was the "act to establish and
maintain a uniform system of common schools." Both of these
laws will be again referred to and commented upon in subse-
quent chapters.
Other laws of general importance passed at this session were:
to preserve the game in the State; to provide for taking the
census; and requiring railroads to fence their tracks. Over six
nundred special or local acts were passed, at the rate, toward
the close of the session, of one hundred and fifty a day. A
resolution for the call of a convention to amend the constitu-
tion was adopted and submitted to the people, and by them
defeated.
During the administration of Gov. Matteson there was paid
on the principal and interest of the State debt, the sum of $4,-
564,840 leaving the amount outstanding on Jan. I, 1857, $12,-
834,144. The whole accruing interest for the previous six
months was for the first time paid on Jan. I, and a balance left
in the treasury to the credit of the interest fund amounting to
$65,000, besides over $150,000 of surplus revenue. The State
treasury had never before been in such good condition; the
receipts therein, on account of revenue for the past two years,
having been $664,000, and the payments therefrom $530,985;
and on account of the State debt, the receipts were $1,113,413,
and the payments $908,820.
NOTE. John Moore, democrat, was reelected State treasurer by 2915 majority,
but anti-Nebraska congressmen carried the State by nearly 18,000 majority.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Formation of New Parties The Bloomington Convention
Elections of 1856 Administration of Gov. Bissell
Twentieth General Assembly Laws The Campaign
of 1858 Twenty -first General Assembly Douglas
again elected to the Senate Laws The Matteson
Embezzlement Death of Gov. Bissell Succession of
Lieut. - Gov. John Wood.
question of slavery in some of its aspects prior to the
X war of the rebellion had, either remotely or directly,
entered into the formation and policy of all leading politi-
cal parties in the country, and had always been the instigating
cause of the most violent and threatening discussions in con-
gress. It was so in 1820 and in 1832. In 1848, upon the
nomination by the democrats of Gen. Cass for president, an
influential faction of that party in New York, opposed to the
extension of slavery, refused to support the nominee and called a
convention at Utica, at which Martin VanBuren was nominated.
This was followed by the calling of a national convention at
Buffalo, to which seventeen states sent delegates, which ratified
Van Buren's nomination. This ticket, nominated upon a plat-
form which had for its distinctive principles "free soil, free
speech, free labor, and free men," received a larger vote in
New York than did the regular democratic nominees. The
party strength being thus divided, the electoral vote of the
state was secured by Gen. Taylor, whose election was thus
assured.
The pacification measures of 1850 had so far impressed
themselves upon the country as a satisfactory adjustment of
slavery controversies that at the presidential election of 1852
the free-soil faction was unable to poll half the vote it had in
1848, and the democratic ticket, representing a reunited organi-
zation, was overwhelmingly successful.
The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill in 1854 was the
signal for the outbreak of a storm of agitation, which, as has
596
THE LIBRARY
OF THE
OF ILLINOIS
GENESIS OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 597
been shown, obliterated all party-lines and disrupted all party-
ties. The effect upon the whig party was disastrous in the
extreme, and its efficient organization as a national party soon
visibly melted away. The question arose, where were the active
workers of the old party to go? Certainly not with the demo-
crats, whom they had persistently fought for twenty years;
not with the free soilers, whose pronounced views on the slavery
question they were not ready to accept. Rather would they
strike out in a new direction and adopt an entirely original
platform, through which, by embracing a popular measure dis-
connected from the slavery question, they might draw support
from dissatisfied democrats, reunite the whigs, and form a new
party certain to achieve success. This new principle was found
in the statement that "Americans must rule America"; and
upon this declaration of their rule of faith the American party
was formed. It was a secret organization and generally recog-
nized as the know-nothing party. While it attracted large
numbers in the free- states, it became the most popular and
powerful in the slave-holding communities of the South, some
of which it was able politically to control.
But in the meantime, the opposition in the free-states to the
repeal of the Missouri compromise continued to increase in
strength and aggressiveness. There was an intensity of feeling
aroused against slavery never before exhibited. Public meet-
ings were held all over the country, in which this antagonism
found vent in denunciatory expression.
The same causes, at work in other Northern States as in
Illinois, produced results equally disastrous to the democratic
party.
At one of the earliest anti- Nebraska meetings, held at
Ripon, Wisconsin, March 29, 1854, Maj. Alvin E. Bovay, a
local politician of some prominence, first suggested the name
of Republican as the proper one to be adopted by the new
party, which it was proposed to form out of the hitherto con-
flicting elements thus brought together. He wrote to the New-
York Tribune urging Mr. Greeley to recommend it. The first
state convention to adopt the name was that of Michigan, at
Jackson, July 6, 1854. Wisconsin followed July 13, and Ver-
mont at her state convention the same day. It was adopted in
598 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Massachusetts at a mass meeting, July 20. In other states, as
in Illinois, there was a hesitancy in the ranks of the anti-Neb-
raska party in regard to its adoption. In New York, eight
different conventions were held in 1854, all of them opposed to
the democracy, but not sufficiently in harmony with each other
to agree upon a common name. In Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa,
although the name Republican was not adopted, a successful
fusion ticket was nominated. In Illinois, the prejudice extended
not only to the name but even to many of those who were
identified with the new party as its leaders. To mention the
name of Giddings, Chase, or Lovejoy to an old whig was like
flaunting a red flag in the face of a mad bull.
For the purpose of reconciling apparent differences and
amalgamating seemingly conflicting but really congenial ele-
ments in the election of 1856 in this State, it was decided, after
careful consultation, that the initiatory movement should be
made by the press. Accordingly a convention was called by
the anti-Nebraska editors of the State to meet in Decatur, Feb.
22, 1856. The following answered to their names: Paul Selby of
the Jacksonville Journal; Wm. J. Usrey, Decatur Chronicle; V.
Y. Ralston, Quincy Whig; Charles H. Ray, Chicago Tribune;
O. P. Wharton, Rock Island Advertiser ; E. C. Dougherty, Rock-
ford Register; Thomas J. Pickett, Peoria Republican; George
Schneider, Staats-Zeitung, Chicago; Charles Faxton, Princeton
Post; A. U. Ford, Lacon Gazette; and B. F. Shaw, Dixon
Telegraph.
Paul Selby was elected president, and Wm. J. Usrey, secre-
tary. Upon the fundamental point of agreement opposition
to the Nebraska legislation strong resolutions were adopted,
while upon those of disagreement they were silent. They re-
commended the holding of a state convention at Bloomington,
for the purpose of nominating candidates for state officers and
appointing delegates to the national convention. A state cen-
tral committee, composed of the following members, James C.
Conkling, Springfield; Asahel Gridley, Bloomington; Burton C.
Cook, Ottawa; Charles H. Ray and N. B. Judd of Chicago,
was appointed to issue the call and make the necessary arrange-
ments for the meeting.
Although not called as such the name, indeed, being nowhere
BLOOMINGTON CONVENTION. 599
used in the proceedings this convention, which was held at
Bloomington, May 29, 1856, has ever since been designated as
the first Illinois republican state convention. It was really a
mass meeting as well as a representative body.
Thirty counties, principally in the southern portion of the
State, sent no delegates; and many of those who were present
from southern and central counties were self-appointed, with no
constituency behind them. Other counties were represented
not only by the regular delegates but also by large numbers of
influential citizens, who were present to cooperate in the en-
dorsement of the movement by voice and pen, and by giving
it needed financial support.
It was a famous gathering and marked the commencement
of a new era in the politics of the State. All those who sub-
sequently became leaders of the republican party were there
whigs, democrats, know-nothings, and abolitionists. Those
who had all their lives been opposing and fighting each other
found themselves for the first time harmoniously sitting side
by side, consulting and shouting their unanimous and enthu-
siastic accord. Among these were Lincoln, Palmer, Browning,
Wentworth, Yates, Lovejoy, Oglesby, and Koerner. John M.
Palmer was 'made president, and Richard Yates, Wm. Ross,
John H. Bryant, David L. Phillips, James M. Ruggles, G. D.
A. Parks, John Clark, Abner C. Harding, and J. H. Marshall,
vice-presidents. The secretaries were Henry S. Baker of Madi-
son County, Chas. L. Wilson of Cook, John Tillson of Adams,
Washington Bushnell of LaSalle, and B. J. F. Hanna of Ran-
dolph.
The platform adopted embraced the following planks:
I. Opposition to the democratic administration. 2. That
congress possessed the power to abolish slavery in the territor-
ies and should exercise that power to prevent the extension of
slavery into territories heretofore free. 3. Opposition to the
repeal of the Missouri compromise and in favor of making
Kansas and Nebraska free-states. 4. In favor of the Union
and the Constitution. 5. In favor of the immediate admission
of Kansas under the free constitution adopted by her people.
6. In favor of liberty of conscience as well as political free-
dom, proscribing no one on account of religious opinions or
in consequence of place of birth.
600 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The nominees of the convention were as follows; Wm. H.
Bissell for governor; Francis A. Hoffman, lieutenant-governor;
Ozias M. Hatch, secretary of state; Jesse K. Dubois, auditor
of public accounts; James Miller, treasurer; Wm. H. Powell,
state superintendent of public instruction. It having been
found that Mr. Hoffman, a native of Germany, was ineligible
by reason of not having been a citizen fourteen years, as re-
quired by the constitution, John Wood of Adams County, was
subsequently named for lieutenant-governor in his place.
The ticket nominated was a concession to the old whig and
democratic elements of the convention, no advanced republi-
can being placed upon it. It was not balloted for in the
usual way, the first two names being nominated by acclama-
tion and the others upon the recommendation of a committee
of which Mr. Lincoln was chairman. The former members of
the state central committee were continued.
It was a body in which ideas predominated to the exclusion
ot personal preferences, and the absorbing interest of the con-
vention centered upon the discussion of the political pronuncia-
mentos embraced in the platform. Eloquent speeches were
made by all the prominent delegates, Palmer from a democratic
stand-point, Browning from the outlook of an old whig, and
Lovejoy from a pinnacle of vision to which others had not been
able hitherto to climb. These were all able, earnest efforts,
arousing wild enthusiasm; but it was left for Abraham Lincoln,
in the final address, in what was beyond question the greatest
forensic effort of his life, to stir the souls of that vast assem-
blage to their lowest depths. He it was who, by his compre-
hensive grasp of the momentous subjects which had engrossed
the attention of the convention, reached the very fountain-head
of thought and enforced conviction; while by his appeal to
broader views of the humanitarian aspects of those vital issues
he awakened such passionate outbursts of demonstration as
never before were witnessed at a political meeting. The im-
mense audience rose to its feet and stood upon chairs and
benches, at times hushed and breathless, with tears filling the
eye and moistening the cheek; and again, as that weird pres-
ence, with eyes lit up as with the divine fire of a seer, led them
on and up to heights of mental vision to which they had never
DEMOCRATIC STATE CONVENTION. 6OI
before attained, the pent up enthusiasm defied control and
sought relief in waving of hats and handkerchiefs, and in wild
cheers that could not be restrained.
And thus was born in this State, under auspicious skies, that
party which in a few months was to take command of the ship
of state at Springfield, and four years later at Washington,
and continue at the helm of that mightier and grander craft
for a quarter of a century, guiding the old ship through a
bloody civil war of four years, resulting in the restoration of
the Union sundered by rebellion, and the freeing and enfran-
chising of four millions of slaves.
In the meantime, the democrats had already placed their
ticket in the field their state convention having been held at
Springfield, May I, of which Thomas Dyer of Chicago was
president. The candidates for governor weje Wm. A. Rich-
ardson, Murray McConnel, John Moore, and John Dement.
Moore was in the lead on the first and second ballots but Rich-
ardson drew the prize on the third. The remainder of the
ticket was as follows: for lieutenant-governor, Richard Jones
Hamilton of Chicago; secretary of state, Wm. H. Snyder of
St. Clair; auditor, Samuel K. Casey of Franklin; treasurer,
John Moore, the then incumbent; and J. H. St. Matthew of
Tazewell, for superintendent of public instruction.
It was a strong ticket, ably led by Col. Richardson who
had represented his district eleven years in congress, since his
earlier services in the legislature, and had been conspicuous in
the national house of representatives as the right-hand man of
Judge Douglas in promoting the Kansas-Nebraska legislation.
That portion of the American, or know-nothing organization
which had not been absorbed by the republicans or democrats,
met in state council at Springfield, May 6, with sadly depleted
numbers. The nominees at first agreed upon refused to accept
the empty honors, and after several attempts a ticket was
finally made up as follows: Buckner S. Morris of Cook County,
for governor; T. B. Hickman, lieutenant-governor; W. H.
Young for secretary of state; Dr. Barbor for auditor;
James Miller afterward nominated by the republicans for
treasurer; and E. Jenkins for superintendent of schools.
The first of the national conventions held this year was that
39
602 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
V of the Americans at Philadelphia, Feb. 19, 1856, at which
Millard Fillmore was nominated for president and Andrew J.
Donelson for vice-president.
Judge Douglas was again a candidate for nomination at the
democratic national convention, which was held at Cincinnati,
June 2, but had to surrender to James Buchanan on the six-
teenth ballot.
The republican national convention was held at Philadel-
phia, June 17, at which John C. Fremont was nominated for
president and Wm. L. Dayton for vice-president; Abraham
Lincoln receiving the next highest number of votes for the
latter office.
The campaign of 1856 was one of the most exciting and
hotly contested ever fought in this State. It was evident that
as in the Nation so in the State, such was the progress made
by the republicans, the only hope the democrats had of suc-
cess was in the divisions of their opponents and in prevent-
ing their fusion. Their denunciations of abolitionists and
"black republicans," as they termed their antagonists, were tre-
mendous. In the southern and central portions of the State
the supporters of Fremont were "few and far between." In
the county of Franklin he received only five votes, in Hamil-
ton nine, in Hardin four, in Johnson two, in Massac five, in
Pope eleven, in Saline four, and in Williamson ten. These were
cast by preachers, teachers, and eastern people, who were
mostly non-combatants, and who, while they were fearless in
argument, were not inclined to resort to the knife, bludgeon,
or pistol, in defence of their principles, though frequently
provoked to do so by the outrageous abuse and overbearing
conduct of their opponents. But here and there were found
those who had determined that they would not submit to
this kind of bulldozing. One of these was John M. Palmer,
between whom and Maj. Harris, then running for congress in
his district, there had been considerable ill-feeling. The major
had written a letter to be read at a democratic meeting at
which Palmer was present. It was very abusive of the repub-
licans, and the latter, rising, remarked that the author would
not dare make such charges to the face of any honest man.
Harris, hearing of this, gave out word that he would resent it
CAMPAIGN OF 1856. 603
at the first opportunity^ which Palmer soon gave him by
attending one of his meetings. The major in the course of
his speech broke out in the most vituperative language against
abolitionists, calling them disturbers of the peace, incendiaries,
and falsifiers, and at length, turning to Palmer and pointing
his finger at him, said, "I mean you, sir!" Palmer rising to
his feet, instantly replied, "Well, sir, if you apply that language
to me you are a dastardly liar!" And drawing a pistol, he
started toward the speaker's stand. "Now, sir," he continued,
"when you get through I propose to reply to you." The
major had not anticipated this turn of affairs, but prudently
kept his temper and finished his speech. , No one interfering,
Palmer then arose, and laying his weapon before Oiim, cocked,
proceeded to give the democratic party such a castigation as
none of those present had ever heard before.
Fillmore was able to hold a sufficient number of know-noth-
ing votes to give a plurality of 9159 and the electorial vote of
the State to Buchanan, but the know-nothing state ticket did
not do so well and the republicans were successful by a plural-
ity of 4732 votes.*
Gov. Bissell came to this State from New York, and entered
upon the practice of his profession as a physician in Monroe
County.^ The practice of medicine was not to his taste and
he soon evinced a preference for public life. In 1840, he was
elected to the legislature, where he was soon recognized as
possessing in the highest degree the qualifications of an orator.
Upon his return home, so great had been his success as an
able and efficient public speaker that he determined to abandon
medicine for the law; he was soon admitted to the bar and
appointed prosecuting attorney. He at once took a front
rank among the lawyers in his circuit, it being conceded
almost a hopeless task to defend where he was prosecuting.
His style of speaking was at once forcible and elegant, always
succeeding in carrying his hearers with him. His distinguished
* The general result in the State was as follows: Buchanan electors 105,348;
Fremont, 96,189; Fillmore, 37,444. Bissell m,375; Richardson 106,643; Morris
19,088. Plurality for Hatch 9291; Dubois3O3i; Powell 3215; majority for Miller
(only two candidates) 2013. The republicans elected four congressmen and the
democrats five.
t He was born in Yates County, New York, April 25, 1811.
604 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
military services in the Mexican wa^ as colonel of the Second
Illinois Regiment, have already been adverted to. After his
return from the war he was, in 1848, elected to congress and
reflected in 1850 and in 1852; where he took a leading part
and became noted for his engaging manners, his attention to
the business before the house, and his eloquence in debate.
Although a democrat, he was not favorably impressed with
the blustering manners of and assumption of superiority by the
southern members of his party. He had already discovered
the signs of a desire to precipitate a conflict between the two
sections; and while he supported the pending measures of
adjustment (1850), he began to perceive that the South was
inclined to ask for such farther concessions as it would not be
possible to grant consistently with honor and justice.
He sat quietly in his seat and listened day after day without
a word to the arraignment of the North by southern members,
for its alleged outrages against the institutions of the South,
until one day a member from Virginia Jas. A. Seddon in an
attempt to exalt the bravery of southern troops over that of,
those from the North, set up the claim that it was the regiment
from Mississippi which met and repulsed the enemy at the
battle of Buena Vista at the most critical moment after the
northern troops had given way. The indignation of the gallant
member from Illinois could be no longer restrained. Taking
the speech of Brown of Mississippi, against the free-states for
his text, he proceeded to defend the North against the charge
of aggressions against the rights of the South in a masterly
effort, bristling with telling points, which commanded the
marked attention of the house. But when he came to repel
the unjust claim of the gentleman from Virginia in regard to
the conduct of our troops at Buena Vista, the silence and atten-
tion throughout the hall became profound and impressive. He
gave forth no uncertain sound. "I affirm distinctly, sir," said
Bissell, "that at the time the Second Indiana Regiment gave
way, through an unfortunate order of their colonel, the Missis-
sippi regiment for whom the claim is gratuitously set up, was
not within a mile and a half of the scene of action, nor yet had
it fired a gun or pulled a trigger. I affirm further, sir, that the
troops which at that time met and resisted the enemy and thus,
GOVERNOR BISSELL. 605
to use the gentleman's own language, 'snatched victory from
the jaws of defeat' were tfte Second Kentucky, the Second Illi-
nois, and a portion of the First Illinois regiments. It gives
me no pleasure, sir, to be compelled to allude to this subject,
nor can I see the necessity or propriety of its introduction in
this debate. It having been introduced, however, I could not
sit in silence and witness the infliction of such cruel injustice
upon men, living and dead, whose well-earned fame I were a
monster not to protect. The true, brave hearts of too many
of them, alas, have already mingled with the soil of a foreign
country; but their claims upon the justice of their country-
men can never cease, nor can my obligations to them be ever
forgotten or disregarded. No, sir, the voice of Hardin, that
voice which has so often been heard in this hall, as mine now
is, though far more eloquently, the voice of Hardin, yea, and of
McKee, and the accomplished Clay each wrapped now in
his bloody shroud their voices would reproach me from the
grave had I failed in this act of justice to them and to others
who fought and fell by my side.
"You will suspect me, Mr. Chairman, of having warm feel-
ings on this subject. Sir, I have; and have given them utter-
ance as a matter of duty. In all this, however, I by no means
detract from the gallant conduct of the Mississippi regiment.
At other times and places on that bloody field they did all
that \heir warmest admirers could desire. But, let me ask
again, why was this subject introduced into this debate? Why
does this gentleman say 'troops of the North' gave way, when
he means oily a single regiment? Why is all this, but for the
purpose of disparaging the North for the benefit of the South?
Why, but for "Varnishing materials for that ceaseless, never-
ending theme of 'Southern chivalry?' "*
Neither the logh nor the manner of this speech, in its un-
flinching boldness, severity, and firmness, could be tolerated, and
it was at once determined that the honor of the South required
that Bissell must be synced or disgraced. Jefferson Davis,
then a senator from Mississippi, wno commanded the regiment
from that state at Buem Vista, was selected to bring the
matter to an issue. Profeajng to be aggrieved and insulted
* "Cong. Globe," XXII, pt. i, 228.
6o6 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
at the manner in which Bissell had spoken of his regiment, he
challenged him to mortal combat. ^Vhile the bravery of Col.
Bissell was unquestioned, it was supposed by many that his
northern education and the unpopularity of the duello in his
own State would compel him to decline a hostile meeting.
But in this they had mistaken their man Bissell promptly
accepted the challenge and selected, as he had the right to do,
as the weapon to be used, the army musket, to be loaded with
a ball and three buckshot, the combatants to be stationed forty
paces apart with liberty to advance to ten. The mortal issue
of such a conflict for one or both of the parties had not been
in the programme, and the question arose how to avoid such
an inevitable catastrophe. President Taylor, the father-in-law
of Mr. Davis, having been advised of the situation the evening
before the contemplated meeting, provided for the arrest of
the belligerents on the following morning, but the intervention
of other friends in the meantime led to a satisfactory adjust-
ment of the quarrel. All that was required of Col. Bissell was
to say in relation to the conduct of the Mississippi regiment,
"but I am willing to award to them the credit due to their
gallant and distinguished services in that battle," which was
nothing more than to repeat what he had already in effect
stated in the speech which occasioned the warlike message.
Gov. Bissell at the time of his nomination and election was
an invalid, his spine having been injured by a fall, and Ae was
unable to walk without the use of crutches. Although his
lower limbs were partially paralyzed, the powers n his mind
were not affected. He made only one speec* during the
campaign, and that at his home in Belleville.
Although the republicans had succeeded *i electing their
state officers and there was shown to be r majority of over
20,000 votes against the democrats, the .atter secured both
branches of the legislature, although themajority was barely
one in each, the senate standing thirt<en to twelve, and the
house thirty-eight democrats, thirty- ne republicans, and six
Americans. The seat of the democ^tic member from Peoria,
Mr. Shallenberger, was contested ty Calvin L. Eastman, who,
although his claim was denied or a tie vote, was allowed the
same pay as the sitting member.
TWENTIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 607
The following senators were reflected: Messrs. Judd, Cook,
O'Kean, and Bryan. L. E.Worcester of Greene, was returned
in place of John M. Palmer, resigned. The other new members
were: Thomas J. Henderson of Bureau, Wm. C. Goudy of
Fulton, Joel S. Post of Macon, Samuel W. Fuller of Tazewell,
Wm. H. Underwood of St. Clair, G. A. D. Parks of Will, Cyrus
W. Vanderin of Sangamon, Samuel H. Martin of White, E.
C. Coffey of Washington, and Hiram Rose of Henderson, to
fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Jacob C. Davis.
In the house, the only members returned who had served
formerly in that body were: Messrs. Sloan, Boal, O. L. Davis,
Dougherty, John A. Logan, W. R. Morrison, Pinckney, Denio,
Lawrence, Preston, Moulton, Isaac N. Arnold, and Burke.
Among the new members were E. C. Ingersoll, then a demo-
crat from Gallatin County, Wm. B. Anderson, Wm. A. J.
Sparks, Shelby M. Cullom, Wm. Lathrop, all of them afterward
members of congress, Cyrus Epler, Franklin Blades, J. V. Eus-
tace, all subsequently circuit-judges, Moses M. Bane, Jerome
R. Gorin, Elmer Baldwin, and L. S. Church.
The proceedings while a temporary organization was being
effected were characterized by disorder and violence. E. T.
Bridges, clerk of the last house, claimed the right to call the
roll, which was contested by the democrats. Mr. Dougherty
'was elected chairman and Capt. J. L. McConnel of Morgan,
temporary clerk. Both clerks proceeded to call the roll at the
same time and both received credentials. Mr. Ingersoll moved
that Bridges be expelled from the house, which being declared
carried, he was forcibly ejected from the hall by the sergeant-
at-arms. Samuel Holmes of Quincy,was finally elected speaker,
receiving thirty-six votes to twenty-eight for Arnold, four for
Cullom, and two scattering. Charles L eib was chosen clerk
and James M. Blades doorkeeper. Benjamin Bond was elected
secretary of the senate and David J. Waggoner sergeant-at-
arms.
The valedictory message of Gov. Matteson was a plainly
written and clear statement of the progress and condition of
the State at this time, and, containing no reference to politics,
was well received by all parties.
Gov. Bissell was inaugurated at the executive mansion, Jan.
6o8 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
12, and his address was read by Isaac R. Diller at the joint-
meeting of the general assembly.
The animosities of the late campaign were carried into the
legislature and kept alive in the house during the entire ses-
sion. The governor's inaugural was a straightforward, well-
written, and dignified state paper in which he referred to the
administration of his predecessor in highly complimentary
terms. He concurred in all of his recommendations and sug-
gested no measures of his own. But although he had com-
mented but briefly upon the Nebraska controversy, and in mild
terms, it stirred the ire of the democrats at once. Upon the
motion to print the address, a virulent attack was made upon
him, John A. Logan taking the lead. The Davis duel was
seized upon as a violation of the constitution, it being charged
that the governor had committed perjury in taking the oath
of office. Able replies to these attacks were made by Isaac
N. Arnold, C. B. Denio, and others, in which it was shown
that the offence charged was committed outside the limits of
the State and beyond the legal jurisdiction of the constitution
of Illinois.
The principal contest, however, was over the apportion-
ment bills, one from each party having been presented. That
of the democrats was passed, but the controversy was ended
only by a decision of the supreme court. It appears that
when the measure was presented to the governor for his
signature, it was accompanied by the appropriation bill. The
former he intended to veto and the latter to approve, but
by a mistake he signed and returned the apportionment
bill instead of that for the appropriations. The democrats
refusing to recall the bill, he managed in some way to obtain
possession of it, when he erased his signature thereto and sent
in his veto message. This the house refused to receive, and
ordered the bill to be filed with the secretary of state. Against
this action the republicans filed a protest which was, on
motion, expunged from the journal. The question of the
legality of the apportionment law having been taken to the
supreme court upon a mandamus proceeding, that Body
decided, that during the ten days in which a bill is construc-
tively under the control of the executive it has not the force
NOMINATIONS IN 1858. 609
of law, and that he had the right to return the bill to the
house with his veto, notwithstanding it had once received his
signature.
There were but few laws of general interest passed at this
session, those to establish a Normal University, and to build an
additional penitentiary being the most important.
The session adjourned on the morning o! Feb. 19, the house
with less than a quorum, most of the members having dis-
persed the previous night amid darkness, disorder, and con-
fusion.
Although there were but two state officers to be voted for
in 1858, it would devolve upon the legislature then chosen to
elect a United-States senator in the place of Judge Douglas,
a fact which imparted to the campaign of that year, unusual
interest and importance. The Kansas-Nebraska controversy
had by this time assumed an entirely new phase. At a
convention held at Lecompton in October, 1857, the instru-
ment historically known as the Lecompton constitution was
adopted, which was subsequently endorsed by President
Buchanan and his cabinet, and by the executive submitted
to congress, February 2, 1858, with the recommendation
that the territory of Kansas be admitted as a state under its
provisions.
Judge Douglas promptly took ground against this constitu-
tion, declaring that its mode of submission to the people was
a "mockery and insult," and that he would resist it to the last
as being illegal, unfair, and in contravention of his doctrine
of popular sovereignty.
The democratic state convention was held at Springfield,
April 21, and placed Wm. B. Fondey in nomination for state
treasurer and ex-Gov. A. C. French for state superintendent of
public schools. The course of Judge Douglas in congress
was warmly eulogized, and although his candidacy was not in
terms endorsed, there was no question but that he was the
choice of the convention to be his own successor.
At the same time and place, there was held what was denomi-
nated the convention of the national democratic party, which
had been called by the supporters of the Buchanan adminis-
tration. Only twenty-four counties were represented, and it
6lO ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
adjourned to reconvene in June, at which time a state ticket was
nominated with John Dougherty of Union County for state
treasurer, and ex-Gov. John Reynolds for state superintendent
of public schools.
The disagreement between Douglas and the administration
of Buchanan, and its opposition to his reelection proved a
benefit to him rather than a disadvantage. While a number
of former friends, holding federal offices, were arrayed against
him, the masses of the democratic party were the more firmly
bound to his fortunes by the disruption.
At the republican state convention, held at the capitol, June
16, in which nearly every county was represented, James Mil-
ler was renominated as the candidate for state treasurer, and
Newton Bateman was selected, on the third ballot, for superin-
tendent of public schools. But one man, who had justly
earned the undisputed position of leader, was thought of for
the highest place in view, and the convention, with entire un-
animity, resolved that Abraham Lincoln was the first and only
choice of the republicans for the United-States senate. Such
an endorsement, though without precedent, was not unexpected,
and yet the honor came at a time when it was considered as
of doubtful value. The contest of Judge Douglas with the
Buchanan administration, over the Lecompton constitution,
had brought him largely into sympathy with the opponents of
the extension of slavery. William H. Herndon, Lincoln's law
partner, had been dispatched East to feel the republican
pulse. He found that many of the leaders, while speaking
favorably of Lincoln thought that it would be "good poli-
tics" to permit the reelection of Judge Douglas. Horace Gree-
ley, in his New- York Tribune, which had a large circulation in
Illinois, not only endorsed the judge's course but had said of
him personally, "no public man in our day has earned a nobler
fidelity and courage;" and that if Lincoln's election was
to be secured by a coalition between republicans and "a little
faction of postmasters, tide-waiters, and federal office-seekers,
who for the sake of their dirty pudding, present and hoped
for, pretend to approve the Lecompton fraud," it would be
viewed with regret by the republicans of other states.
This attitude of the leading paper of his party and of such
CAMPAIGN OF 1858. 6ll
men as Seward and Banks, at the opening of the campaign,
was to Lincoln like the withdrawal from the field on the
eve of battle of a tried battalion, relied upon to obtain the
victory. Its dampening and dispiriting effect upon him was
plainly to be seen, while it was correspondingly helpful and
encouraging to Judge Douglas.
Mr. Lincoln, with unfailing intuition, saw that former posi-
tions must be exchanged for those of a more radical and far-
reaching character. That a line must be drawn, upon one side
or the other of which every one must stand, leaving no place
for a third party, nor for any one who regarded the question
of slavery merely as one of property rights and who cared
not whether it was voted down or voted up by the people, as
his opponent had declared his own sentiment to be in a speech
on the Lecompton constitution.
Mr. Lincoln, with the greatest care and his best thought, pre-
pared the address afterward delivered to the republican con-
vention, writing it in fragmentary parts on scraps of paper
carried in his hat and afterward revised and copied at length.*
Although so widely copied and commented upon, the follow-
ing extract from the address is here given:
" 'A house divided against itself can not stand.' I believe
this government can not endure permanently half-slave and
half- free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved I do
not expect the house to fall but I do expect that it will
cease to be divided. It will become .all one thing or the other.
Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread
of it and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief
that it is in the course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates
will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the
states, old as well as new, North as well as South."
Before delivering this speech, Lincoln submitted it to
the judgment of his friends, not one of whom "approved of it,
except his law-partner. Indeed, the general opinion was strongly
averse to the sentiment as expressed in the foregoing extract.
With his usual self-reliance he arose and remarked: "Friends,
the time has come when these sentiments should be uttered;
and if it is decreed that I shall go down because of this
* Herndon's "Lincoln," II, 397.
6l2 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
speech, then let me go down linked to the truth let me die
in the advocacy of what is just and right."*
The selection of Lincoln by the republicans as their stand-
ard-bearer in this campaign was due no less to a desire
to confer upon him what was regarded as a deserved promo-
tion, than to the fact of his supposed willingness and ability to
meet his distinguished competitor on the stump. If he was
not able to cope successfully with the great senator, it would be
useless for any other man to make the attempt. And as Doug-
las had never shown any backwardness to meet any foeman in
debate, it was generally concluded that the great issue between
the two parties of opposition to slavery extension on the one
side and the advocates of the principle of non-intervention on
the other was to be publicly fought out by them in the arena
of joint debate. It was to be an intellectual combat, in which
giants were the principals and the entire Nation spectators.
Such political discussions had been introduced in this State
when it was admitted into the Union and had always been favor-
ably regarded by the people. Unless a candidate at all accus-
tomed to public speaking and few others were selected, was
able and willing to meet his opponent on the stump, his pros-
pect of success was slim. The custom had been brought from
Kentucky and was regarded as a necessity of the times. There
were no daily and but few weekly newspapers in those pioneer
days, and in no other way could the people be so well informed
and placed in possession of reliable current political informa-
tion as this. In order that no candidate should have an oppor-
tunity of misleading his constituents and of making misstate-
ments, it was insisted that both sides should be fairly heard at
the same time.
As the election day drew nigh, field days were appointed, at
which the candidates appeared, took the stand, and set forth
their claims "by word of mouth." During the holding of the
circuit-courts, the lawyers, nearly all of whom were politicians
and good speakers, would deliver speeches on alternate nights.
In this way Douglas had met Stuart, Browning, and Woodson,
all of whom had been his competitors for congress, and also
his present opponent.
* Herndon's " Lincoln, " II, 400. ,
LINCOLN VERSUS DOUGLAS. 613
Now although the reason for these joint discussions had
mainly passed away through the multiplication of newspapers,
both daily and weekly, and of magazines, and through the
establishment of public libraries, there yet remained a feeling
among the people that perhaps after all the best way of arriv-
ing at the merits of a political controversy was to hear the
arguments of able leaders delivered in the presence of each
other.
When Judge Douglas came home to Chicago in July, Lin-
coln, knowing that he would signalize his return by making
a well-prepared opening speech, decided to hear him and take
the measure of his opponent under the partially changed aspect
of the issue. The judge's reception by his followers was ex-
ceedingly gratifying, even enthusiastic. He spoke from the
balcony of the Tremont House to an immense audience, taking
for his text the opening sentence of Lincoln's speech at the
late republican convention. The judge spoke for two hours
and was loudly cheered throughout. Lincoln replied from
the same place, where a still larger crowd gathered, on the fol-
lowing night. His appearance on the stand was greeted with a
storm of applause which was repeated at every telling point.
One of these occurred in the beginning of his speech. Judge
Douglas had said, referring to the alleged alliance existing be-
tween the republicans and the federal office-holders, that he
would deal with the unholy alliance as the Russians had with
the allies in the Crimean war, not stopping to inquire when
they fired a broadside, whether they hit an Englishman, a
Frenchman, or a Turk. Mr. Lincoln happily retorted, and,
while denying that there was any such alliance as that charged,
continued, "but if he will have it so, and that we stand in the
attitude of the English, French, and Turks, he occupying the
position of the Russians, I beg he will indulge us while we
barely suggest to him that the allies took Sebastopol."
The senator left Chicago, July 16, for Springfield on a train
decorated with flags and banners, and was received at the prin-
cipal stations by large crowds amid the booming of cannon and
the blare of martial music. He spoke at Bloomington, and
addressed a large mass-meeting at Springfield on the i/th. Mr.
Lincoln, who had been on the same train, replied to him again
614 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
at Springfield. By this time although either party had been
waiting for the other to make the advance, it became apparent
that a face to face contest must be substituted for this method
of shooting at long range. Accordingly, on July 24, Mr. Lin-
coln issued his challenge, and an arrangement for joint discus-
sions at seven different points in the State was finally con-
cluded July 31.
This discussion was regarded with national interest, and the
fate of parties, as well as that of the principals engaged, if not
of the Union itself, hung upon the result.
In point of education and previous experience in debate,
Douglas undoubtedly had the advantage. He had now been
in congress fifteen years, and had frequently met in the intellect-
ual arena Seward, Chase, Trumbull, Hale, and Fessenden, lead-
ing republicans, and latterly Jefferson Davis, Toombs, Benja-
min, Green, Mason, and Hunter, of his own party, on the Le-
compton issue. For a controversy he was always prepared, and
to be involved in one was ever to him to be in his native
element. No man was better furnished with the weapons of
debate or exhibited more skill in their use than he. As a
popular speaker, in the art of managing a mixed audience and
in carrying off the honors of the hour, in his ability to bridge
over or avoid hard places in an argument, and to make the
most of his adversary's weak points, he was the superior of Mr.
Lincoln or any of his compeers in the senate.
Lincoln had been known as a public speaker since 1838,
having been three times a presidential elector, in which capac-
ity he canvassed the State for Harrison, Clay, and Fremont.
Neither was he without experience as a debater, a kind of
contest which he believed in and enjoyed. He had already
measured swords with his great rival, and each had thus received
a taste of the other's metal. He was a born logician, and
sought to reach the point of demonstration in speaking on
leading public questions; but his controlling advantage in the
present contest consisted in the fact of the sincerity of his
belief and the earnestness and fearlessness with which he
sought to enforce his convictions, that free labor was prefera-
ble to slave labor, and that slavery in itself was inherently
wrong; at once appealing to the economic instincts and reach-
ing the moral sense of the people.
LINCOLN VERSUS DOUGLAS.
The contrast between the great champions physically was no
less striking than that politically and intellectually. Lincoln
was tall and lank and lean, while Douglas was short, round,
and robust. The voice of Lincoln was sharp and thin, though
of large compass, while that of his opponent was sonorous and
full. Lincoln possessed an inexhaustible stock of anecdotes
which he told admirably by way of illustration, but although
humorous, did not possess that readiness of sparkling repartee
which enabled Douglas to make pointed and happy turns of
thought against an opponent. The senator was always forci-
ble, self-asserting, and plausible, while Lincoln, though gener-
ally confining himself to the closest reasoning, rose at times to
impassioned bursts of the highest eloquence.
The questions for discussion all related to slavery, and grew
out of the repeal of the Missouri compromise and the substitu-
tion therefor by the democrats, in the Kansas-Nebraska bill, of
the doctrine of non-intervention by congress with slavery in
the territories, and leaving the people thereof " perfectly free
to form and regulate their domestic institutions in their own
way, subject only to the constitution of the United States." To
this the republicans were opposed, taking the ground that it
was the duty of congress to prohibit the extension of slavery
into putative states. On the main question, the respective
positions of the contestants, as stated by themselves at Alton,
were as follows:
Mr. Lincoln said: "He [Douglas] contends that whatever
community wants slaves has a right to have them. So they
have if it is not a wrong. But if it is a wrong, he can not say
people have a right to do wrong. He says that upon the score
of equality, slaves should be allowed to go in a new territory
like other property. This is strictly logical if there is no dif-
ference between it and other property. If it and other property
are equal, his argument is entirely logical. But if you insist
that one is wrong and the other right, there is no use to insti-
tute a comparison between right and wrong. You may turn
over everything in the democratic policy from beginning to
end, whether in the shape it takes on the statute book, in the
shape it takes in the Dred Scott decision, in the shape it takes
in conversation, or the shape it takes in short maxim-like argu-
6l6 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
ments it everywhere carefully excludes the idea that there is
anything wrong in it. That is the real issue. That is the issue
that will continue in this country when these poor tongues of
Judge Douglas and myself shall be silent. It is the eternal
struggle between these two principles right and wrong
throughout the world. They are the two principles that have
stood face to face from the beginning of time, and will ever
continue to struggle. The one is the common right of human-
ity and the other the divine right of kings. It is the same
principle in whatever shape it developes itself. It is the same
spirit that says, 'You work and toil and earn bread, and I '11
eat it.' No matter in what shape it comes, whether from the
mouth of a king, who seeks to bestride the people of his own
nation and live by the fruit of their labor, or from one race of
men as an apology for enslaving another race, it is the same
tyrannical principle."
To which Judge Douglas replied: "He [Lincoln] says that
he looks forward to a time when slavery shall be abolished
everywhere. I look forward to a time when each state shall
be allowed to do as it pleases. If it chooses to keep slavery
forever, it is not my business, but its own; if it chooses to
abolish slavery, it is its own business not mine. I care more
for the great principle of self-government, the right of the peo-
ple to rule, than I do for all the negroes in Christendom. I
would not endanger the perpetuity of this Union, I would not
blot out the great inalienable rights of the white man for all
the negroes that ever existed."
The supreme court, in the celebrated Dred Scott case, had
decided that slaves being property their owners had the right
to take them to the territories the same as any other property
and hold them as such; that congress transcended its power
in the passage of the Missouri compromise, prohibiting slavery
north of 36" 30', and that "if congress itself could not do this,
if it is beyond the powers conferred by the federal government,
it must be admitted that it could not authorize a territorial
government to exercise them." Douglas had endorsed this
decision Lincoln opposed it.
Under this opinion slavery already existed in Kansas, not-
withstanding the expressed will of the people, and when the
LINCOLN VERSUS DOUGLAS. 617
judge was asked to reconcile his doctrine of popular sover-
eignty in its practical workings with the decision, he was forced
to take the position that slavery required protection by the
adoption of police regulations, and that it could not exist if
these were withheld by unfriendly legislation; thus practically
conceding that it was in the power of territorial legislation to
accomplish indirectly what the court had declared it had not
the right to attempt directly. Of course the weak points on
both sides were thoroughly exposed and ventilated.
As had been anticipated by Lincoln's friends, when they
heard his speech on " the house divided against itself," it was
boldly attacked and dissected by his watchful antagonist in his
first speech at Chicago, and formed the objective point of his
subsequent efforts. He charged that Lincoln had committed
himself to the position that there must be a uniformity of
institutions of the several states, which would lead to con-
solidation and despotism, and with great force and vehemence
insisted that according to Lincoln, the formation by our fathers
of the Union out of states that were partly free and partly slave
was in violation of the law of God, and as they could not thus
exist, the proposition committed his opponent to the duty of
going into the slave states and making them free.
These objections were pointed out to Lincoln when the
speech was delivered, and it was insisted by his friends that to
utter such a sentiment was to commit a political blunder. But
it must be remembered that Judge Douglas had been a promi-
nent candidate for the presidency, and that if he could hold his
party together, every indication pointed toward his nomina-
tion and elevation to the executive chair in 1860. Keeping
this fact in view, Lincoln uniformly answered, "Well, per-
haps it was a mistake so far as the present canvass is con-
cerned, but in my opinion it will develop in the course of its
discussion such statements and admissions on the part of
Douglas as will widen the gap which already exists between
him and the democrats of the southern states, and make his
nomination and election as president impossible." What the
ultimate result would be upon himself he refrained from stating,
if, indeed, he had any opinion upon that point at that time. It
was supposed by some, however, that a vivid conception of the
40
6l8 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
possibilities of his own future success was not excluded from
the view.
Lincoln's defence of his "divided-house" proposition was that
our fathers left the institution of slavery in the course of its
ultimate extinction; that their policy was to prohibit its spread
into territories where it had not before existed ; that this policy
was abandoned by the repeal of the Missouri compromise, thus
placing it on the new basis not only of perpetuity but also of
practically unlimited extension.
The first joint discussion was held at Ottawa, August 21.
The crowd in attendance was estimated at 12,000; the speakers
were met at the depot on their arrival by their friends, with
large processions headed by brass bands, firing of cannon, and
the fluttering of flags, banners, and emblematic devices from
windows and house-tops on every street. Judge Douglas led
off in a speech of one hour, Lincoln replying in an hour and
a half, and the judge closing in thirty minutes. The admirers
of each were enthusiastic in their demonstrations, Mr. Lincoln
at the conclusion of the meeting, being seized by a party of
friends and borne off through the crowd on their shoulders.
The side issues brought into the discussion attracted as much
interest as did the main question. These were numerous and
interesting, and owing to greater care and prudence were gen-
erally turned by Lincoln in his own favor. Douglas charged,
for instance, that his opponent was present at the Lovejoy-
Codding meeting at Springfield, in October, 1854, and read a
set of resolutions which he alleged Lincoln helped to frame,
when, in fact, the latter was not present at the meeting, and the
resolutions alleged to have been passed by it were, in fact,
adopted at a meeting held in Kane County. Of course no
little capital was made out of these erroneous statements.
At Freeport, before an immense throng of listeners, Lincoln
was the first speaker. He at once proceeded to answer seriatim
the seven questions propounded to him by his opponent at
Ottawa, relating to his position on the fugitive-slave law, the
admission of new states into the Union, the abolition of slavery
in the District of Columbia, the prohibition of the slave-trade
between the different states, the prohibition of slavery in the
territories, and the acquisition of new slave-territory. He then
LINCOLN VERSUS DOUGLAS. 619
in turn propounded four interrogatories to the judge. One of
these was as follows: "Can the people of a United-States terri-
tory in any lawful way, against the wish of any citizen of the
United States, exclude slavery from its limits prior to the for-
mation of a state constitution?" which brought out the fatal
answer, that the local legislature by unfriendly legislation might
effectually prevent the introduction of slavery into any territory.
This position being in conflict with the Dred- Scott decision,
which he had always upheld and defended, was heralded over
the southern states as evidence that he had been two-faced on
the subject, contending for the extension of slavery under the
decision, and for its exclusion under his new doctrine.
The policy of propounding the question which had brought
forth the answer had been submitted by Lincoln to some
confidential friends, who advised against it. They even besieged
his room the day before the discussion came off and insisted
that the answer of his opponent would be such as to affect his
fortunes in the State, without regard to the South, and urged
him not to risk the interrogatory, saying in chorus, "if you do
you can never be senator." But Lincoln, persisting in his
determination to force an answer, replied, "Gentlemen, I am
killing larger game; if Douglas answers, he can never be presi-
dent, and the coming battle of 1860 is worth a hundred of this."*
At Jonesboro, Sept. 15, the audience was not so great, only
about 2000 being present, but the meetings at Charleston, three
days thereafter, and at Galesburg, Oct. 7, Quincy, Oct. 13, and
at Alton, Oct. 15, were all attended by large and enthusiastic
crowds.
In addition to the joint discussions, both candidates made
speeches at mass meetings and barbecues, in nearly every
county in the State, sometimes the appointments clashing, when
nothing but the intervention of the two champions prevented a
collision. It was a memorable campaign, abounding in debates,
full of personalities, and in which individuals and newspapers
were not over-nice in their choice of epithets. The arguments
of the principals were taken up by their respective followers and
repeated and threshed over and over again. Every town had
its set of the Congressional Globe, and the number of constitu-
* "Abraham Lincoln: a History," The Century Magazine, XXXIV, 393.
620 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
tional lawyers was limited only by the number of the members
of the bar.
The victory in the discussion was claimed by both sides; but
the immediate result at the polls was, that while the republican
state ticket was again elected, Douglas once more succeeded,
under the existing apportionment in carrying the legislature
the senate standing fourteen to eleven and the house forty to
thirty-five in his favor. But there was a more important and far-
reaching effect, and one which had been partially foreseen by the
victorious contestant. His utterances during the canvass had
cleft the democracy of the Nation in twain; thus not only ren-
dering possible the nomination and election of his great antag-
onist in 1860, but effectually precluding the possibility of a
united democracy in favor of armed secession.
James Miller, republican, for state treasurer received 125,430
votes, and Wm. B. Fondey, 121,609, Dougherty, the administra-
tion candidate, receiving 5071. Both the ex-governors, Reynolds
and French, running for superintendent of public instruction,
-were defeated, the latter by only 2143 votes.
The twenty-first general assembly convened Jan. 3, 1859.
The new senators were, Henry W. Blodgett, John P. Richmond,
Samuel A. Buckmaster, Chauncey L. Higbee these four hav-
ing formerly served in the house Richard F. Adams, Zenos
Applington, George C. Bestor, Anthony L. Knapp, Thomas A.
Marshall, and Austin Brooks. John H. Addams began his
second, and Andrew J. Kuykendall his third, term.
The house was very largely composed of new members, only
twelve of those who had served previously being returned.
Among these were Wm. R. Morrison, Wm. B. Anderson, Vital
Jarrot, Cyrus Epler, M. M. Bane, L. S. Church, and, after a
long interval, Ebenezer Peck. Among those elected for the
first time were, Leonard Swett, Alonzo W. Mack, Alex. Camp-
bell, Stephen A. Hurlbut, Vanli. Higgins, Wm. H. Green,
Wm. A. Hacker, and Elijah M. Haines who then entered upon
his long and eventful legislative career. John E. Detrich and
Wm. B. Plato had been members of the eighteenth senate.
Wm. R. Morrison was elected speaker over Vital Jarrot, and
James M. Blades, doorkeeper. Finney D. Preston was chosen
secretary of the senate and David J. Waggoner for the second
time, sergeant-at-arms.
RE-ELECTION OF SENATOR DOUGLAS. 621
Gov. Bissell's message was a concise yet comprehensive state
paper, containing many valuable statistics and recommenda-
tions, among these being -the establishment by the State of an
asylum for imbecile children and a reform school for juvenile
offenders.
Knowing that the political issues involved in the last cam-
paign would have to be again contested in the coming one of
1860, which the former had simply foreshadowed, the tension of
feeling created thereby had not been relaxed, nor had its heart-
burnings and acerbities ceased. Each side, confident of final
victory, was unyielding, determined, and "ready for the fray."
The predominant question which the legislature was required
to settle the selection of a United-States senator admitting
of no delay in the minds of the majority, was brought to a
speedy conclusion within three days of assembling. The result
already anticipated was the election of Judge Douglas, who
received fifty-four votes to forty-six for Mr. Lincoln.
For a few days after the recording of this great political ver-
dict, good humor prevailed, the proceedings were peaceable and
orderly, and the small amount of legislative business of this
session was transacted. But upon the introduction by the demo-
crats, on January 27, of their senatorial and representative appor-
tionment bill, the fight commenced. Still smarting under the
defeat of this measure in the preceding legislature, they now
presented a bill still more objectionable to the republicans, and
with it the alternative of passing this or none. They were met
by their opponents in the same spirit and with equal determina-
tion.
The republicans claimed that the bill introduced which
finally passed both houses was so framed as to enable the
democrats to retain their ascendancy in the legislature notwith-
standing they were in a minority in the popular vote. The
constitution required that legislative districts should be formed
out of contiguous and compact territory, while the districts
created by the bill were in some instances made to extend over
two degrees of latitude. The republican counties, with a popu-
lation of 646,748, were allowed thirty- four representatives,
while the democratic counties, with a population of 477,678,
were given forty-one. All other business was made subordi-
622 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
nate to the passage of this measure, every step of its progress
being contested.
It was understood that this apportionment bill, if passed,
would be returned to the house by the governor with his objec-
tions. It could not be again passed unless a quorum was pres-
ent, and this the republicans resolved to prevent, rather than to
permit such a gerrymandering bill to become a law. They
accordingly, to be prepared for this event, antagonized the
measure with the general appropriation bill, but were foiled"
in their efforts to secure the latter's passage.
The bill was passed on the i5th and was retained by the
governor until the morning of the 22d, when he returned it to
the house with his veto. The governor's private secretary was
announced and commenced reading the message amid much
confusion, the speaker stating that no quorum was present
and ordering the sergeant-at-arms to remove the private secre-
tary; but he persisted until he had finished the reading, when
he handed both bill and message to a page, to be delivered to
the speaker. That officer directed the page to return the docu-
ments to the private secretary, who in turn declined to accept
them, and they fell at his feet, from which position they were
rescued by a member and placed on the desk of the speaker,
who at once brushed them off upon the floor. A call of the
house showed no quorum, and it adjourned amid great excite-
ment.
Messrs. Hurlbut, Swett, Mack, Church, and John A. Davis
filed a protest against the action of the speaker and house in
thus refusing to receive the governor's veto, which, although
objected to, was finally allowed to be entered upon the journal
together with a democratic protest against the same, signed by
Messrs. Campbell, Barrett, Detrich, Sloss, James M. Davis,
and Green. No quorum thereafter appeared during this ses-
sion. Nearly all the republicans departed for their homes, thus
not only defeating the apportionment scheme but also prevent-
ing the passage of the general appropriation bill and many
other important measures. After waiting two days for the
return of the recalcitrant members, the legislature adjourned
sine die.
Fortunately, however, appropriations for the northern peni-
THE GREAT EMBEZZLEMENT. 623
tentiary and the state institutions at Jacksonville had been
passed early in the session, and also a bill for the payment of
the interest on the state debt, and as the judges could draw
their salaries under existing law, not very much inconvenience
or hardship followed.
Time and opportunity, however, was found by the general
assembly, five days before its adjournment, to enact a law en-
titled "an act to indemnify the State of Illinois against loss by
reason of the unlawful funding of canal indebteness," which
involves a very curious and interesting history.
In May and August, 1839, the trustees of the Illinois-and-
Michigan Canal, to meet existing necessities, had issued ninety-
day canal-scrip to the amount of $388,554. These certificates,
it appears from the reports of the canal-trustees, had all been
redeemed by 1842-3 except $316.
In January, 1850, Gen. Jacob Fry, for many years a canal-
trustee, while on a visit to Springfield, discovered the fact that
one of these old certificates had been offered for sale in that
place. He immediately notified the auditor of what he had
discovered and cautioned him and the other state officers against
receiving such scrip. Upon examination at the fund com-
missioners' office, he learned, to his great astonishment, that a
very large amount had been funded and new bonds issued
therefor, the sum, as then ascertained, exceeding $224,182. Of
course this discovery produced a profound sensation, and the
question arose who had been the successful manipulator of the
gigantic fraud?
The senate at once instructed its financial committee, com-
posed of Messrs. Cook, Kuykendall, and Applington, to inquire
into the matter. They made a thorough investigation, from
which it appeared that in December, 1856, just before the close
of his term of office, Gov. Matteson presented $13,000 of the
scrip above described, for which he received new bonds. That
during 1857, $93,500 of the same scrip was presented by him,
for which new bonds were likewise issued, and that, including
the bonds so issued, there had been paid to him at different
times since, out of the state treasury on account of said
canal-scrip, the sum of $223,182. The certificates thus pre-
sented for refunding and payment were identified by Gens.
624 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Thornton and Fry, ex-canal-trustees, and Joel Manning, the
secretary of the board, as the identical scrip issued by them
in sums of $50 and $100, and subsequently redeemed. They
also recognized some of the scrip as a portion of that which,
after being redeemed, had been packed in a large sealed box by
Gen. Fry and Mr. Manning, which box was deposited in the
branch state-bank at Chicago in 1840, where it remained until
it was removed to the canal-office in the same city in 1848.
It further appeared during the course of the examination,
that upon the appointment by Gov. Matteson of Josiah Me
Roberts as state canal-trustee in 1853, that officer had received
from ex-Lieut.-Gov. J. B. Wells, his predecessor, the box de-
scribed by Manning, together with another box with a loose
cover, containing broken packages of cancelled canal-indebted-
ness, which in many instances did not contain the amounts
designated on their wrappers. He advised Gov. Matteson of
his receipt of the boxes, which were said to contain all the
books, vouchers, and papers, of the canal-office, and by direc-
tion of the governor packed all the evidences of canal or other
state indebtedness which he had received from his predecessor
in a trunk and ordinary shoe-box, and having securely locked
and sealed them, addressed the same to the governor at Spring-
field. He placed them on the railroad at Chicago, and went
with them in company with Gov. Matteson, then going to
Springfield, as far as LaSalle, where they were left in charge
of the governor who directed them to be sent to his address
at the capitol.
The trunk was found in a basement room of the capitol,
and had been opened, but the shoe-box had never been seen
since that time. The box and trunk which, as the evidence
showed, contained the redeemed and also the unused canal
scrip of 1839, were thus directly traced into the possession ot
Gov. Matteson, it being established also that he subsequently
appeared with some of the identical scrip in his possession and
had exchanged the same for new bonds, while he had received
the cash for other amounts directly from the state treasury.
The scrip funded by him was not in his own name but in the
names of unknown or fictitious persons; and while he claimed
to have purchased the scrip for a valuable consideration and
THE GREAT EMBEZZLEMENT. 625
witnesses testified to this fact, he was unable to remember or
identify a single person from whom he had purchased.
The case thus made out against the ex-governor was a strong
one and caused great consternation. He had been a popular
officer and had not only been endorsed by his successor, but had
been complimented by the legislature upon his retiring from the
gubernatorial chair, for the efficient, able, and honorable manner
in which he had discharged its duties.
Upon the development of the foregoing facts, the governor
came forward in a communication to the committee, stating
that he "had unconsciously and innocently been made the in-
strument through whom a gross fraud upon the State had been
attempted," and offered to indemnify the State against all loss
or liability by reason of moneys paid on bonds issued to him
on account of said scrip. Property was accordingly secured
by mortgage to the State from which was subsequently realized
the sum of $238,000 to satisfy a decree against him for $255,-
ooo. In the spring of^ 1859, the crime charged against the gov-
ernor was investigated by the grand jury of Sangamon County.
A large number of witnesses were examined and an indictment
was agreed upon, which on the following day was reconsidered
and the bill was finally ignored by the close vote of ten for to
twelve against.
The committee of investigation, which was authorized to
hold sessions in vacation, afterward made a careful examination
of the financial affairs of the State, the results of which are
embraced in a voluminous and valuable report to the legislature
of 1 86 1. They found that in addition to the frauds which
had already come to light, others also had been committed
during the same period with various kinds of scrip, amounting
in the aggregate to $165,346. No offer or attempt was ever
made to secure the State from this loss, the committee saying
that "whether this scrip thus fraudulently taken from the State
was the scrip which was in the box and trunk above mentioned
can not be determined, because no descriptive lists of the scrip
were kept."
Gov. Matteson subsequently removed to Chicago, where he
died January 31, 1873.
Another attempt illegally to deplete the state treasury came
626 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
near successful accomplishment under Gov. Bissell. This was
the funding of one hundred and fourteen of the bonds for $1000
each hypothecated to Macalister and Stebbins in 1841. By the
law of 1849, the State had provided that these bonds might be
funded at 28.64 cents on the dollar, which amount the holders
refused to accept. Under a law of 1857, they came forward and
claimed that the governor was authorized to take them up at
par, and the supreme court was invoked to sustain their appli-
cation. But that body declined to give any opinion in the case,
on the ground that the executive was a coordinate and inde-
pendent branch of the State government, whose official acts it
had no power to control.
Afterward, however, Gov. Bissell ordered the state -transfer
agent in New- York City to fund these bonds at par, under this
law, overlooking or forgetting the fact that they had been
expressly excepted by resolution of the legislature from its
operation. His attention soon after this being directed to a
more careful examination of the law, he became satisfied of
his error, and ordered the funding stopped. The principal,
$114.000, however, had been already funded when the order
was received, but not the arrears of interest amounting to
$78,660.
The auditor and treasurer deciding that they would not pay
interest on the new bonds, which having been funded as "in-
scribed" bonds, that is not transferable except upon the books
of the funding agency, which had been transferred to the audi-
tor at Springfield, they became valueless and were afterward
surrendered to the State, which fortunately lost nothing by the
transaction. The course of the governor, however, at the time
was severely censured in opposition papers.
The impaired health of Gov. Bissell, confining him as it did
almost entirely to the executive mansion, rendered the discharge
of his official duties difficult and onerous. Contrary to the
hopes of his friends, the cruel malady which had afflicted him
for several years grew worse as time rolled on, and he having
caught cold, a fever set in which terminated his life, on March
1 8, 1860. He was buried at Springfield; the funeral obsequies
were solemn and imposing; the burial service of the Roman
Catholic church was chanted at the grave, and a funeral oration
was delivered by Rev. Father Smarius of St. Louis.
fHt
Or
of
GOVERNOR JOHN WOOD. 62/
In public as in private life, Gov. Bissell was distinguished for
his many virtues and unblemished character. His manners were
simple and his intercourse with his fellow-citizens frank and
unostentatious. He was an orator, a gallant soldier, a states-
man with large grasp of view, and a conscientious public officer.
He was the idol of his family, hospitable, benevolent, and
chivalrous.
John Wood, the lieutenant-governor of the State, who suc-
ceeded to the unexpired term of Gov. Bissell, was born in
Moravia, Cayuga County, New York, December 20, 1798. His
father, Dr. Daniel Wood, was a surgeon and captain in the
war of the Revolution. Having decided to remove to the West,
young Wood came to Illinois in 1819, and in 1822, built the
first log-house on the site of the present city of Quincy, at
which place he continued to reside until his death, June n, 1880.
A monument was erected to his memory by his fellow-towns-
men, and dedicated July 4, 1883.
Gov. Wood was a b)uff,v Jarge-hearted, enterprising pioneer.
His education was limited, b.ut he possessed a comprehensive
mind and a first-rate judgment of men and things. His official
duties during the few rrioriths he occupied the executive chair
were discharged without removing to Springfield, he kindly
leaving the occupancy of the executive mansion to the family
of Gov. Bissell.
He was appointed by Gov. Yates, who greatly admired "the
old Roman," as he called him, as one of the delegates to the
peace-convention at Washington, in February, 1861. Upon his
return, he was appointed state quartermaster-general, a position
he continued to hold until the law creating the office was re-
pealed in 1863, in which capacity he rendered most effective
and invaluable service to the State.
Although over sixty-five years of age, in 1864, he raised the
13/th regiment of Illinois infantry loo-day men, which he
led to Memphis, where he soon encountered active service.
Brave and patriotic in public life, in private he was liberal,
benevolent, generous, frank, and open-handed. Living until the
later years of his life in affluence, his memory will be cherished
by the needy and suffering for his many benefactions, and by
the State for his devoted sacrifices and services.
528
ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
During the four years from December, 1856, to December,
1860, the public debt was reduced $3,104,374, and the finan-
cial condition of the State continued to improve. The receipts
into and payments from the State treasury for the years 1859-
60, being $300,000 less than for the two previous years, were :
Revenue fund,
State-debt
Interest n
School ii
Land i
Illinois-Central R.R. fund,
$3,300,035 $3,606,754
The administration of the offices of the secretary of state,
auditor, treasurer, and superintendent of schools had been
clean, efficient, and popular.
Received.
Paid out.
$690,440
$843,515
1,192,010
1,466,261
949,082
913,099
183,897
188,355
139
48
284,467
195,476
CHAPTER XXXV.
Review Conventions and Elections of 1860 Administra-
tion of Gov. Yates The Political Situation Twenty-
second General Assembly Senator Trumbull's Second
Election War - Clouds Lincoln's Inauguration
Attack on Fort Sumter The War of the Rebellion
begun Enlistments under Different Calls Changed
Conditions of Public Affairs.
TLLINOIS in 1860 had become the fourth state in the Union
JL in population and wealth, having in the last decade out-
stripped the states of Virginia, Massachusetts, North Carolina,
Georgia, Tennessee, and Indiana. In the principal products of
her fields wheat and corn, she had now surpassed all other
states and occupied the foremost position.
In 1850, she had only 270 miles of railroad, a smaller number
than the mileage operated in fifteen other states. She now had
in successful operation 2900 miles, and was surpassed in this
respect only by Ohio. The acreage of farms had increased from
a little over 5,000,000 to over 13,000,000; a larger extent of
cultivated soil than was found in any other state, New York
excepted. Her mighty city on Lake Michigan, whose gigantic
strides in population, wealth, and power have been the marvel
of the world, had made the unparalleled increase in population
of nearly 400 per cent, that is from 29,963 to 109,206.
Her advance in power and influence in the councils oi the
Nation had been no less extraordinary than her local progress.
From seven congressmen in 1850, she was now entitled to thir-
teen; and in shaping the policy of the Nation, and directing
the course of empire, no voice was more potent than that of
the Prairie State.
Not in vain had her vast prairies, beautiful as boundless,
waved their fields of wild grass, nodding their blossoming tops
to the breeze, and beckoning man, lord of the soil, to possess
them and transform their limitless products into gold. To the
primal beauty of her native groves and smiling fields had been
629
630 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
added the handiwork of their master, under whose touch they
had yielded the richer fruits of industry, improvement, and
culture.*
The reaper and mower and fanning-mill had banished the
cradle, the sickle, the scythe, and the flail, while the log-cabin
had given place to more comfortable, convenient, and commodi-
ous dwellings of frame and brick. Where had been seen the ox-
team or the springless wagon, were now speeding along splendid
spans of horses drawing vehicles of comfort and elegance. The
old log -school -house had very generally given way to more
spacious structures of brick; while church-steeples, pointing
to the skies in every city, town, and hamlet, gave evidence that
the moral world, no less than the intellectual and material,
had kept pace with and derived benefit from the efforts to
achieve a superior civilization.
In the world of politics, there was no less activity than in
social and business circles. The lerment of discussion upon the
slavery question had reached a point where some final ad-
justment of the momentous issue could no longer be avoided.
The republican state convention of 1860 met at Decatur,
May 9, every county being represented except Pulaski. It was
held in a wigwam built for the occasion, and in material, enthu-
siasm, and numbers has not been since equalled. Lincoln, the
rail -splitter, was there, and Judge Logan, and Browning, and
Wentworth, Palmer, Hurlbut, Oglesby, and Peck. Judge Joseph
Gillespie was elected to preside.
The candidates for governor were Richard Yates of Morgan,
Norman B. Judd of Cook, and Leonard Swett of McLean.
Upon the informal ballot Judd had 245 votes, Swett 191, and
Yates 183. On the formal ballot Yates gained 14 over Swett,
i * The following table, from the census reports, shows the increase in the principal
cereals and live stock :
WHEAT, BU. CORN, BU. OATS, BU. HORSES. COWS. HOGS.
1850 9,4H,57S 57,646,984 10,087,241 267,653 612,036 1,915,907
1860 23,837,023 115,147,777 15,220,029 563,736 1,483,813 2,502,308
Manufactures, which were so insignificant as to be considered hardly worth enum-
erating by the census taker of 1850, amounting to but $2,117,887, had now reached
the respectable figure of $57,580,886.
The taxable value of all property in 1850 was set down at $119,868,336, in 1860,
at $367, 227, 742.
STATE CONVENTIONS. 631
and Judd also gained. The second ballot was likewise damag-
ing to Swett, both the others gaining from him. The third
ballot was as follows: Judd 252 he losing n votes, Yates 238,
Swett 246. Upon the next ballot the friends of Swett went
to Yates, giving him 363 votes and the nomination.
Francis A. Hoffman of Cook County was nominated for
lieutenant-governor; Jesse K. Dubois, auditor; Ozias M. Hatch,
secretary of state; William Butler, treasurer; and Newton Bate-
man, state superintendent of public instruction.
The democratic convention met at Springfield, June 13, and
was presided over by Hon. Wm. McMurtry. The first ballot
for governor yielded the following result: for James C. Allen
of Crawford County, 157 votes; S. A. Buckmaster, 81; J. L. D.
Morrison, 88; Newton Cloud, 65; Walter B. Scates, 14; and 4
scattering. On the second ballot, Judge Allen proved to be
the favorite and was nominated. He had served one term in
the legislature and two terms in congress, and was known as a
popular and able canvasser. L. W. Ross was nominated for
lieutenant-governor; G. H. Campbell, secretary of state; Ber-
nard Arntzen, auditor; Hugh Maher, treasurer; E. R. Roe as
superintendent of public instruction a strong ticket.
State conventions were also held by the supporters of the
Buchanan administration and by those who favored the Bell-
Everett movement. The former placed in nomination for gov-
ernor, T. M. Hope, and for lieutenant-governor, Thomas Snell.
The Bell-Everett ticket was headed by John T. Stuart for
governor, and Henry S. Blackburn for lieutenant-governor.
These, however, were but side issues, the great contest being
between the republicans, and the democracy as represented by
Judge Douglas.
The national republican convention, held at Chicago, May
16, resulted in the nomination of Lincoln for president on the
third ballot. It had become apparent at Decatur, that he was a
much more formidable candidate than had been supposed.
Forces were at work in all the free-states, of whose full extent
he was not aware, which pointed to him as the probable choice
of the people. He manifested some anxiety on the subject at
Decatur, especially regarding the selection of delegates. And
when asked if he would attend the Chicago convention, he
632
ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
replied, "Well, I am unable to decide whether I am enough of a
candidate to stay away, or too much of one to go."
Of course he narrowly watched the developments at Chicago,
and was in constant communication with his friends, who kept
him advised of every movement. While waiting at Spring-
field for reports, he varied the scene by playing a game of
house-ball. Upon hearing the result of the second ballot he
expressed the opinion that he would be nominated,* and
when the great news came he took the dispatch, and saying
"there's a little woman down on Eighth Street that would like
to see this," proceeded to his home amid the booming of can-
non, the music of the spirit-stirring fife and drum, the loud
acclaims of the people, and the congratulation of his friends.
What a contrast between the joyous realization of his hopes
and ambitions at this hour, and those feelings of despondency,
* Ballotings for president at the republican convention, Chicago, May 16, 1860:
States.
No. Delegates
First ballot.
Second ballot.
Third ballot.
a
i
in
LINCOLN
CAMERON
M
p
M
M
<
O
Scattering y
Q
9
id
W
LINCOLN
g
H
PQ
u
U
Scattering ,
SEWARD
LINCOLN
a
H
O
Suattering^
Maine
N. Hampshire
Vermont .....
Massachusetts
Rhode Island-
Connecticut
New York-
New Jersey .-
Pennsylvania -
Maryland
Delaware. ....
Virginia
Kentucky
Ohio
16
10
10
26
8
12
70
S4
it
6
23
23
46
26
18
12
22
6
IO
8
8
8
5
6
6
2
4 66
IO
i
21
70
3
6
7
4
2
I
7
I
I
2
i
IO
6
i
IO
I
22
6
9
IO
4
3
4
4
3
2
2
2
IO
i
18
i
i
6
9
10
8
5
4
4
I
2
i
i
4
47i
8
14
i
4
3
48
f.
8
10
3i
5
2
8
52
9
i
2
8
5
14
6
8
26
i
8
34
4
4
8
7
N4- O 4* C
6
29
I
3
8
6
14
13
29
4
IS
2
Indiana
Missouri
Michigan
Illinois
18
18
18
12
4
10
2
8
8
22
g
,
22
Wisconsin
a
2
i
i
i
i
2
g
5
i
i
2
si
i
California
Minnesota
g
g
Kansas T'y---
Nebraska T'y.
D. of Columbia
Totals
6
2
2
,
g
I
i
-
2
-
3
i
-
2
-
3
I
-
2
-
IO2
I*
48
49
42
55
181
35
22
180
22
24*
7
On the third ballot, Lincoln required but two and a half votes to be nominated,
and before the result was announced, Ohio changed four votes from Chase to
Lincoln, which gave him a majority; other states followed, giving him a total of
354 votes. For Illinois delegates, see page 1205.
NATIONAL CONVENTIONS. 633
and signs of discouragement which met him four years before
upon his return from the Bloomington convention. Flushed
with his forensic triumph there, on arriving at Springfield
he had notices posted that he would speak at the court-
house that night. The house was lighted, and every preparation
made for a large meeting. But no audience appeared. There
were but three present, himself, his partner Herndon, and John
Paine, an old-time free-soiler. Lincoln stood up, and, with
mingled wit and melancholy, said, "when this meeting was
called, I knew that you would be here, Will, and you, John
Paine, but I was not certain that any one else would be present.
While all seems dead, the age itself is not. It liveth, as surely
as our Maker liveth, and the time will come when we will be
heard. Let us be hopeful, and appeal to the people."
The democratic national convention was held at Charleston,
S.C., April 23, 1860, all the states being represented, with con-
testing delegations from Illinois and New York. After a session of
eight days, and the adoption of a platform, the delegates from
Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Texas, Louisiana except two,
South Carolina except three, three from Arkansas, two from
Delaware including Senator Bayard, and one from North
Carolina seceded from the convention.
The convention then proceeded to ballot for president, with
the following result: Douglas 145 y z votes, Guthrie 35, Hunter
42, Dickinson 7, A. Johnson 12, Lane 6, Jeff Davis i]4, Toucy
2^, F. Pierce I. The fifty-seventh ballot showed 15 \y z votes
for Douglas, and 101^ divided among the other candidates,
the former still lacking 16% votes of the requisite two-thirds. The
convention then, on May 3, adjourned to meet in Baltimore,
June 1 8. At Baltimore other delegations those from Virginia,
Tennessee, Indiana, Delaware, and Kentucky withdrew. Judge
Douglas was then nominated by the remaining delegates, re-
ceiving on the second ballot 1813^ votes to 13 opposed.
The seceding delegates nominated John C. Breckinridge for
president and Joseph Lane for vice-president.
A convention of delegates from twenty states, claiming to
represent the "Constitutional Union party," met at Baltimore,
May 9, and nominated John Bell of Tennessee for president,
and Edward Everett of Massachusetts for vice-president. And
41
634 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
thus were presented in the presidential campaign, candidates of
every shade of political creed.
In Illinois, the campaign of 1858 was continued and in some
respects repeated, with the same candidates, but in what differ-
ent relations! Douglas, as had been then predicted, was the
candidate of a segment of the divided democracy, while Lincoln,
whom he had then defeated, was, by the very notoriety of that
contest and the masterly manner in which he had presented the
arguments on his side of the issue then joined, again brought
to the front against him and made the candidate of the united
republicans of the entire country for the higher office of presi-
dent.
For the first time in twenty years, during the progress of a
political campaign in Illinois, the voice of Lincoln was not
heard. But the record of his former speeches afforded the text
from which the republican stump-orators in every free-state
gathered at once their logic and their inspiration. Though
the orator himself was silent, the potent echo of his voice
resounded from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Douglas, on the contrary, ever ready for a fight and fearless
of the consequences, carried the war of democratic factions
into every slave-state. - For the first time in the history of the
country, a leading candidate for president went directly before
the people as his own advocate and the exponent of his own
views. He knew that his only hope of success was in the union
of the democratic party, and although that hope was slender,
he "buckled on his armour and went bravely to the fray;"
with what disastrous result, is well known. Lincoln, while he
received no votes in ten Southern States and but a light vote
in the other five, carried every free-state except New Jersey,
whose electoral vote was divided between himself and Douglas.
Breckinridge carried all the Southern States except his own
Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, where Bell received a small
plurality, and Missouri, where Douglas had a few more votes
than Bell.*
The gubernatorial canvas in Illinois was exceedingly brilliant,
* The popular vote was: Lincoln, 1,866,352; Douglas, 1, 375, 157; Breckinridge,
847,514; Bell, 587,830. Electoral vote: Lincoln, 180; Breckinridge, 72; Bell, 39;
Douglas, 12.
GOVERNOR YATES. 635
and the most exciting since that of 1826, when Edwards was
elected over Sloo. The two principal candidates ha4 served
together in congress and were popular with their respective
parties, as well as eloquent speakers*. Their meetings were
attended by large crowds, who formed processions, with music
and flying banners. The people recorded their verdict at the
polls as follows: for Yates, 172,196 votes; Allen, 159,253; T.
M. Hope, 2049; John T. Stuart, 1626.
Richard Yates, upon whom the executive mantle of Illinois
had now fallen, was born in Warsaw, Gallatin County, Ky., on
Jan. 18, 1815. His family was of English origin, first settling
in Virginia. His father, Henry, a man of superior mental en-
dowments, was one of the pioneers of Kentucky, but, being
fully impressed with the evils of slavery, resolved in 1831 to
remove to the free-State of Illinois. Stopping first at Spring-
field, where he carried on the business of a merchant, he settled
permanently at Island Grove in the same county.
Richard completed his scholastic training at Illinois College
in i835) having been one of the first two graduates of that
institution, and was the first governor of the State who had
passed regularly through a college curriculum. Of medium height
and proportions, the striking feature of the governor was his fine
head, covered with a thick growth of dark auburn hair. His face
was expressive at once of power, passion, and amiability. His
voice was strong and flexible well adapted to speaking in the
open air. His address was courteous, and his manners exceed-
ingly frank and winning. In the opening of his speeches, he
was so nervous as to excite apprehensions of a failure, but as
he proceeded he gained confidence, and his embarrassment
disappeared or was forgotten in the charm of his oratory. This
timidity or nervousness followed him through life, although in
his political speeches, as he became familiar with the subject,
it was not so apparent.
He read law in the office of Gen. John J. Hardin at Jackson-
ville, and entered upon its practice with flattering prospects of
success. But the wider and more congenial field of the hus-
tings presented attractions which he was unable to resist. Accord-
ingly in 1842, he entered the arena of politics and was elected
to the legislature, where he served three terms in the lower
636 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
house. Here, although always in the minority, he made many
valuable acquaintances and became a popular member. He
frequently took part in the debates, and was looked upon as a
rising young statesman. In 1850, he became the whig candi-
date for congress in the old seventh district, which had success-
ively elected Hardin, Baker, and Lincoln to congress, but
which, in a contest with Judge Logan in 1848, had been wrested
from the whigs by the gallant Maj. Thomas L. Harris, victori-
ously returned from the Mexican war. Yates was selected to
redeem the district. The canvas which followed was able and
hotly maintained. Joint discussions, in the old-fashioned way,
were held in every county. Harris was the better debater, but
Yates the more eloquent speaker, and together they made a
splendid match. Off the stump, however, Yates had greatly
the advantage. He possessed a personal magnetism which
enabled him to attach his friends to his support with hooks of
steel. Without the unpolished strength and genius of Lincoln
in argument, or the grace and wit of Baker in oratory, he was
the superior of either in the personal management of a political
campaign. Yates was elected by a small majority, and was the
only whig congressman who achieved success in Illinois that
year.
Again a candidate in 1852, the democrats made the mistake
of putting up against him John Calhoun, who was not strong with
the people, although a man of fine ability, and had large claims on
his party for past services. The district had been so changed in
the apportionment that it was supposed any democrat could be
elected. But in this his opponents had underestimated the
strength and resources of Yates, who was again successful,
although the district gave Pierce, for president, 1096 majority.
In 1854, however, he fell a victim to the changing political
affiliations consequent upon the Kansas- Nebraska agitation.
Notwithstanding he ran ahead of his ticket over 1000 votes,
he was defeated by his old antagonist, Maj. Harris, by 200
majority. He was a vice-president of the Bloomington con-
vention in 1856, but was not again actively engaged in politics
until the great campaign of 1860.
Francis A. Hoffman, the lieutenant-governor elect, was born
at Herford, Prussia, in 1822. On arriving at Chicago in Sept-
THt
Of IHfc
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
TWENTY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 637
ember, 1839, finding himself without money or friends, he
first engaged in teaching a German school in Du Page County,
and subsequently was ordained as a Lutheran minister, in which
profession he labored faithfully ten years. In 1852, he abandoned
the ministry and removing to Chicago, studied law. In the
following year he engaged in the real-estate business, and after-
ward in that of banking. He soon became actively interested
in politics, and in 1853 was elected an alderman. He was de-
cidedly anti-slavery, and among the first to assist in the organi-
sation of the republican party. Well educated, and an earnest
American in spirit, as well as by adoption, he had made him-
self familiar with the forms and proceedings of public bodies,
and having also a decisive character, quick to learn and observe,
had qualified himself to become an intelligent, as he was an
impartial, presiding officer. He was the third foreigner elected
in this State to preside over the senate.
The twenty-second general assembly, which convened Jan. 7,
1 86 1, was republican in both branches by one majority in the
senate and seven in the house. In the former body, appeared
for the first time, Wm. B. Ogden, Richard J. Oglesby, Alonzo
W. Mack, Washington Bushnell, William Jayne, and Henry E.
Dummer. Of those who had formerly served in the house, the
following had been again elected: Cyrus Edwards, Aaron Shaw,
James W. Singleton, Franklin Blades, S. P. Cummings, S. A.
Hurlbut, Wm. H. Green, L. S. Church, and E. M. Haines.
Among the newly-elected members of the house were: Wm. R.
Archer, J. Russell Jones, Robert H. McClellan, J. Young Scam-
mon, Wm. H. Brown, Arthur A. Smith, Lawrence Weldon,
Robert B. Latham, Thomas W. Harris, Norman M. Broadwell,
Albert G. Burr, Harvey Hogg, Henry D. Cook, Andrew J.
Cropsey, Solomon M. Wilson, and John Scholfield.
Shelby M. Cullom, who had served with distinction in the
twentieth general assembly, was elected speaker of the house,
receiving thirty-nine votes to twenty-nine cast for J. W. Single-
ton. Henry Wayne was chosen clerk, and Caswell P. Ford
doorkeeper. Campbell W. Waite was made secretary of the
senate, and Richard T. Gill sergeant-at-arms.
On January 10, the two houses met in joint-session for the
purpose of electing a United-States senator. Judge Trumbull,
638 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
having proved himself an able and industrious member, was the
unanimous choice of the republicans for reelection. The demo-
crats voted for Samuel S. Marshall, the vote standing for Trum-
bull 54 to 36 for his opponent; the Nemesis of Fate having
with exact mathematical accuracy reversed the ballot of two
years before, which had resulted in the election of Douglas.
But few laws of public interest were enacted at this session,
the proceedings and discussions being largely affected by
paramount national questions and the events daily transpiring.
Legislative and congressional apportionment bills were passed;
also an act for the protection of inn-keepers ; and one to protect
married women in their separate property.
The new governor was inaugurated in the presence of both
houses of the general assembly, Jan. 14, 1861.
Meanwhile, events of transcendent importance concerning
the welfare of the states as such, and their federal relations to
the Union of states, were transpiring in the South. The clash
of ideas and resulting conflict of opinion which had, for so
many years, existed between the North and the South on the
subject of slavery, and its relations to the general government,
and which had always been a disturbing element between the two
sections, w.as now bearing long-dreaded but hardly-anticipated
fruit. No sooner was it ascertained that the presidential elec-
tion had resulted in favor of the republican candidate, than the
feeling became apparent in the slave-states that the time was
come, and the pretext furnished, to assert and maintain, by
force of arms, if necessary, the sovereignty and independence
of the states as such. This feeling, though heretofore dormant
in many portions of the South, was now fully aroused and in-
tensified in public meetings and conventions, and by the action
of state legislatures, urged on by their leading men; and this
notwithstanding the fact of the repeated declaration of Lincoln,
that he had no purpose or intention of interfering, in any way,
with slavery in the states.
South Carolina was the first to act, and on December 20,
passed an ordinance "to dissolve the union between the State
of South Carolina and the other states united with her under
the compact entitled the constitution of the United States of
America." The State of Mississippi, on January 9, was the
PORTENTOUS ASPECT OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS. 639
first to follow the Palmetto State; then came Florida and
Alabama, on January n; Georgia, on January 18; Louisiana,
on January 26; and Texas, on February I. In Arkansas, North
Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee, such was the strength of the
Union sentiment that the designs of the revolutionists were, for
the time being, thwarted; while in Kentucky, Delaware, Mary-
land, and Missouri, although there was a large number of se-
cessionists, especially among the office-holders, they were not
sufficiently strong to carry their states out of the Union by
formal enactment.
Early in December, the cabinet of President Buchanan be-
gan to disintegrate by the resignation of Howell Cobb, secre-
tary of the treasury, which action was soon followed by the
venerable Gen. Lewis Cass, secretary of state, and all the other
members except the secretary of the navy.
Such was the portentous aspect of public affairs when Gov.
Yates took the oath of office; although but two states had
actually passed an ordinance of secession, it was evident that
the ominous shadow of disunion was to darken every southern
commonwealth. The inaugural message of the governor was
mainly devoted to a discussion of that subject. He defended the
following propositions: First That obedience to the constitu-
tion and laws must be insisted upon and enforced as necessary
to the existence of government; Second That the election of
a chief magistrate of the Nation, in strict conformity with the
constitution, was not sufficient cause for the release of any state
from any of its obligations to the Union.
These questions were exhaustively considered in the ablest
and most scholarly state-paper that had ever been submitted
to an Illinois legislature. He argued that the valley of the
Mississippi must forever remain an undivided territory under
one governmental jurisdiction; and, with keen insight into the
future, predicted that as a result of the crisis through which the
country was then passing, the Union would be preserved, and
the Nation honored throughout the civilized world as "one of
intelligence and freedom, of justice, industry, and religion,
science and art, stronger and more glorious, renowned, and free,
than ever before."
The action of the people in the South in regard to secession
640 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
naturally called forth public expressions of views in the Northern
States. Conventions were held in several of these, all looking
toward a peaceable solution of the difficult political problem
presented; one of which was a democratic state- convention
held at Springfield, January 16, attended by five hundred dele-
gates. Resolutions were adopted counselling compromise and
conciliation, and declaring that any effort to coerce the seceding
states would plunge the country into civil war; denying the
right of secession; and proposing a national convention to
amend the constitution, so as to produce harmony and frater-
nity throughout the Union.
On Feb. 2, in response to an invitation from the state of
Virginia calling a peace conference to meet at Washington,
the following commissioners from Illinois were appointed:
Stephen T. Logan, John M. Palmer, John Wood, Burton C.
Cook, and Thomas J. Turner.
. The absorbing topic of secession was largely and ably dis-
cussed in the legislature, and joint-resolutions adopted, declar-
ing that the State of Illinois was willing to concur in the calling
of a convention to amend the constitution of the United States,
but that the present federal Union must be preserved, and the
present constitution and laws administered "as they are."
All efforts toward conciliation, through conventions and on
the part of congress, utterly failed to accomplish the object.
The intention on the part of Southern leaders to form a separ-
ate confederacy had been fully formed, and no proposition
short of making slavery a national institution would have been
for a moment entertained.
The seceding states, under the name of the Confederate
States of America, adopted a constitution at Montgomery,
Alabama, February 9, 1861, and organized their government by
the election of Jefferson Davis, president, and Alexander H.
Stephens, vice-president.
Two days thereafter, Abraham Lincoln left his old home in
Springfield for the city of Washington, to assume the duties of
president of the United States.
Under no such trying and critical circumstances had any of
his predecessors ever taken the oath of office. In a hostile
community, surrounded by conspirators uttering treasonable
THE OPPOSING GOVERNMENTS. 64!
sentiments, with which leading officers of the government and
its army sympathized, he approached the performance of his
duty with the greatest anxiety; yet with patriotic clearness of
vision and firmness of purpose. His inaugural address was
the end of argument on the question of the sovereignty of the
United States, and no answer was ever attempted. He was intro-
duced to the vast audience, on the occasion of its delivery, by
his old friend, Senator E. D. Baker, and upon the platform
were ex-President Buchanan, Chief-Justice Taney author of
the Dred-Scott decision, and his old competitor, Judge Doug-
las, who extended toward him every courtesy even holding his
hat during the delivery of the address.
The new administration, now fully organized, stood face to
face with the government of the seceders at Montgomery.
The pause which followed was ominous of that fratricidal clash
of arms soon to shake the continent and be heard around the
globe. The hour had now" arrived, long presaged by the mon-
archists in the old world, and notably by such writers as Macau-
ley, who could see in a republican polity nothing stronger than
a rope of sand ; the hour which had been so often prophesied
by those social scientists who had constituted themselves the
apostles of the doctrine of the divine right of kings; the hour
in which the supporters of despotism exulted and the friends
of popular liberty turned pale; the hour when democracy, the
government "of the people, by the people, and for the people,'*
was to be tried in a crucible heated seven times.
The firing of a shell on April 12, 1861, by Gen. Gustave T.
Beauregard into Fort Sumter, which Gen. Robert Anderson had
refused to surrender upon rebel demand, was the signal for the
commencement of "the war of the rebellion." The fort was
surrendered on the next day, and on Monday morning, April
15, the president issued his proclamation calling for 75,000
volunteers to subdue "combinations too powerful to be sup-
pressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, and to
cause the laws to be duly executed."
The wager of battle had been thrown, the first blow struck
at the sovereignty of the United States, and the issue of dread
war was thus squarely met.
Immediately upon the receipt of the president's proclama-
642 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
tion, Gov. Yates convened a special session of the legislature for
the purpose of enacting laws for a more perfect equipment of
the militia, and of devising means to render efficient assistance
to the general government "in preserving the Union, enforcing
the laws, and protecting the property and rights of the people."
General order number one was issued by the adjutant-general,
requiring commandants of state military organizations to take
immediate steps to perfect their drill and discipline.
On the same day, a dispatch having been received from the
secretary of war stating the quota of Illinois under the presi-
dent's call, the governor issued his call for "six regiments of
militia."
The country was ablaze with military excitement. Meetings
were held in every town and city, and the fires of the revolu-
tionary era were kindled afresh. Clergy and laity united in
the utterance of loyal sentiments, amid the singing of patriotic
songs and enthusiastic cheers. "The Star Spangled Banner,"
and "The Red, White, and Blue," now that the old flag had
been assaulted by armed traitors, were shouted forth with a
zest and fervor which gave to their melody an inspiration hith-
erto unfelt, and a power never before realized. Women, regard-
less of what the war might cost them, vied with the men in
demonstrations of that unflinching courage which is born only
of loyalty and devotion.
Indeed, in this turmoil of impending strife, the country pre-
sented a strange and unwonted aspect. Unless the Mexican
war, which had been of brief duration, be excepted, there had
been no general war to arouse the martial spirit of the Nation
for fifty years. All the knowledge of the onset of armed
hosts which the present generation possessed had been de-
rived from books, or from traditions preserved in the memo-
ries of the few surviving heroes of former wars, and by
them transmitted to their children. These legends of the
fathers, telling of the vicissitudes and hardships, the excitement
and glory of a soldier's life upon the march, in the bivouac, and
amid the smoke and carnage of battle, while they stirred the
blood, conveyed but an imperfect idea of the realities of war,
its horrors, and its sacrifices. But the first gun had fired the
Anglo-Saxon blood, the time for fighting had come, and he
GREAT SPEECH OF DOUGLAS. 643
who should shrink from the proffered conflict, would be a traitor
to the name and chivalry of his race.
In Illinois, there was a union of sentiment among all parties
as remarkable as it was gratifying. Leading democratic journals
came out in condemnation of the rebels, and sustaining the gov-
ernment. Judge Douglas was among the first to call upon Presi-
dent Lincoln, and tender him his cordial sympathy and support.
Arriving in Springfield during the session of the legislature, he
was invited to address that body in joint-session. There was
great anxiety to hear him, knowing that every utterance would
be well considered, and that his views would influence the
actions of thousands of his fellow-citizens. He gave forth no
uncertain sound, and in his masterly presentation of the issue
tendered by the South, surpassed all his former efforts in the
eloquence of his unanswerable logic and in irresistible appeals to
the people to be loyal to the country. The first duty, he said,
of an American citizen is obedience to the constitution and
laws. In the present contest there could be but two parties,
patriots and traitors. "It is a duty we owe to ourselves, and
our children, and our God, to protect this government, and
that flag from every assailant, be he who he may." This
was the last and greatest of the senator's forensic efforts at
the capital, and, coming from one so well known and justly
honored in all the states, was worth more to the cause of
the Union in the call to arms than such words from any
other living man; and in his sudden death at this critical
and momentous juncture, the cause of the Union sustained
a loss greater than that which follows any mere reverse of
arms.*
On April 19, the secretary of war telegraphed Gov. Yates to
take possession of Cairo as an important strategic point. At
this time there were but few existing military organizations in
the State, and these chiefly independent companies in the
larger cities. The most available commanding officer was Brig.-
Gen. Richard Kellogg Swift of Chicago, who was ordered by
the governor to proceed to Cairo as speedily as possible with
such force as he could raise. On April 21, that officer, with
commendable dispatch, was on his way to the supposed danger
tHe died at the Tremont House, Chicago, after a brief illness, June 3, 1861.
644 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
point with seven companies, numbering 595 men, armed and
equipped.*
The first company of volunteers tendered in response to the
governor's call on April 16, was the Zouave Grays of Spring-
field, Capt. John Cook, and on the same day companies were
tendered from Richard J. Oglesby, Macon County; Benj. M.
Prentiss, Adams County; Wilford D. Wyatt, Logan County;
Geo. W. Rives, Edgar County, two companies; John Lynch,
Richland County; and by Gustavus Kcerner, five companies
from St. Clair; and before night of the i8th, fifty companies
had been tendered. At the same time, $100,000 was offered to
the governor as a loan, to aid in organizing and equipping the
troops, by the leading banks-f- and bankers of Springfield, and
$500,000 by those;]: of Chicago.
The general assembly, at its called session, enacted laws
amending the militia law; providing for the creation of a war-
fund of $2,000,000, and for a board of three commissioners to
audit accounts for supplies; to organize six regiments of volun-
teers; and to authorize the raising of ten additional regiments
of infantry and one battalion of light artillery one of said
regiments from companies then in Springfield, and one from
each of the nine congressional districts of the State.
The precipitation of the war of the rebellion wrought a great
change in the administration of the state government. The
executive office under the second constitution had so little con-
nection with the people, except during the sessions of the legis-
lature, that visitors were but few and far between, so that the
governor was actually lonesome for the want of callers. The
* The expedition consisted of the following forces : Brig. -Gen. Swift and staff;
Chicago Light Artillery, Capt. James Smith; Lockport Light Artillery, Capt. Nor-
man L. Hawley; Company A, Chicago Zouaves, Capt. James R. Hayden; Company
B, Chicago Zouaves, Capt. John H. Clybourn; Chicago Light Infantry, Capt.
Frederick Harding; Turner Union Cadets, Capt. Gustav Kowald; Lincoln Rifles,
Capt. Geza Mihalotzy; Light Artillery Company, Capt. Caleb' Hopkins; Capts.
Charles Houghteling of Ottawa, Edward McAllister of Plainfield, and Lindsay H.
Carr of Sandwich, reported for service but did not join the expedition until after-
ward. These troops served from April 19 to May 3. Adj't Gen's Report, I, 223.
t Jacob Bunn, N. H. Ridgely & Co., and the Marine and Fire Insurance Bank.
The Marine Bank, J. Young Scammon; Hoffman and Gelpecke; Merchants Loan
and Trust Co. ; B. F. Carver & Co. ; Western Marine and Fire Insurance Co. ; H.
A. Tucker Co. ; and E. I. Tinkham & Co.
in of IU
PREPARING FOR WAR. 645
scene now presented in his room was as different as that of a
quiet country town on ordinary days and when invaded by a
circus. It was now the busiest and most attractive place at the
state capitol, and, in conjunction with the adjutant-general's office,
the center of public interest. Its doors were besieged by anxious
crowds of aspiring and patriotic citizens offering their services,
their influence, and sometimes their money, to aid their country
in its time of peril. They came singly, and with companies,
detachments, and squads. With the loyal and deserving there
came also the speculator, the trader, and the bummer men
whose only aim was their own promotion and personal gain.
All parties and classes and every shade of character were
represented ; and the demand for places largely exceeded
the supply.
Under the laws of congress and regulations of the war de-
partment, the authority to appoint and commission officers 01
volunteer regiments, field, staff, and line, was vested in the
governors of the respective states. Company-officers were gen-
erally appointed in the first instance upon the recommendation
or election of the men, and field-officers upon the recommenda-
tion of the commissioned officers of the regiment. As a rule
to reward services in the field and personal merit, as well as to
encourage and stimulate non-commissioned officers and privates,
promotions were made to field-officers regimentally, and to line-
officers by companies.
In making appointments, the first places were usually giver
to those who had seen service in the Mexican war and to those
who had become familiar with the manual of arms in the mili-
tia; others, again, by reason of their standing and influence in
one party or the other, and supposed military knowledge and
adaptability to the service, which were frequently taken for
granted, were as a rule readily provided for. But still others of
equal standing had to be accommodated, whose previous pur-
suits and education had given no indication of their fitness for
an army command. There were few, however, even of the latter,
who did not attain in the service a distinction which had not
been anticipated.
The governor in making appointments and in the adoption of
war measures consulted with the other state-officers. "Uncle
646 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Jesse" as Auditor Dubois was familiarly called, had an exten-
sive acquaintance in the State, and his judgment of men and
things could be relied upon with the greatest certainty of its
correctness. Butler was practical, bluntly honest, brave, and
faithful. Hatch was earnest, widely known, shrewdly affable,
and popular. Bateman, though loyal and cultured, as superin-
tendent of schools, was not so much consulted.
Among those who found their way to Springfield at this time
was Capt. U. S. Grant, late of the regular army. He came
from Galena, bringing with him a letter of recommendation
from Hon. E. B. Washburne. Major, afterward Colonel, Thomas
P. Robb of the governor's staff, having observed Grant waiting
with other strangers in the governor's anteroom, apparently
for an interview, and learning from him that he was desirous
of offering his services to the State, introduced him to his
excellency. Robb was impressed with the modest deportment of
the visitor, and when the governor made the routine reply to
Grant's offer, that he knew of no opening just then, that every
place was filled, and appealed to Robb to confirm his state-
ment, the latter replied, that he believed they were short ot
help in the adjutant-general's office; and proposed that Grant
should be given a desk there for the time being. The governor
readily consented, and Grant was accordingly set at work
under Col. Mather arranging, filing, and copying papers.
One morning, a few days afterward, Gov. Yates informed Maj.
Robb that the services of a regular-army officer had become
indispensable in the camps of rendezvous to perfect organ-
izations and keep down insubordination; and ordered him to
proceed to Cincinnati to procure the services of a captain of
the regular army then there; Capt. John Pope, who had been
stationed at Camp Yates, having been ordered to St. Louis.
To this order, Capt. Grant, who had quietly entered the room,
was a listener. He reminded the governor of his military train-
ing and former experience in the army, which seemed to have
been overlooked, and suggested that he could be made much
more useful in the service than in occupying a subordinate
clerical position. Yates replied, "Why, Captain, you are just
the man we want!" And on that day, Grant was installed as
commandant of Camp Yates. He remained in the state ser-
GRANT'S APPOINTMENT. 647
vice, discharging camp duties and mustering in regiments at
various points, from May 8 to June 26.
When, in June, the question arose as to who should succeed
Col. S. S. Goode temporarily in command of the twenty-first
regiment, under whom the men refused to muster for the three
years' service, on account of his alleged bad habits several
names were considered for the position.
Capt. Grant had been sent to Mattoon to muster in the regi-
ment, and had made so favorable an impression upon the
officers and men, that several of the former had written letters
to the governor, requesting his appointment. Still, other names
were canvassed. Finally " Uncle Jesse" remarked at the confer-
ence "This regiment was raised in my old district, I know its
situation and the boys who compose it. The man to place at
its head in my opinion, as well as in that of its officers, is U. S.
Grant." There was no further hesitation ; the appointment
was made, and Grant took command June 16.*
The increase in the duties of the executive office correspond-
ingly raised the importance of the position of the governor's
private secretary, who on account of his confidential relations
with his chief was called upon to exercise rare prudence
and sound discretion, as well as to possess first-rate clerical
ability.
Hon. Solomon M. Wilson, a member of the house from
Chicago, was appointed to this position in April. Finding that
it required more attention than he was able to give, he resigned
the office in September, and was succeeded by John Moses of
Scott County. Both of these officers were appointed and com-
missioned as aides-de-camp and members of the governor's staff
with the rank of colonel.
Early in May, Col. and ex-Gov. John Wood was appointed
state quartermaster-general, and Col. John Williams, an old
and honored business man of Springfield, commissary-general.
The newly-created department of army auditors was organ-
ized as follows: commissioners, James H. Woodworth, presi-
* For some of the material statements in the text, the author is indebted to Gen.
A. L. Chetlain, now residing in Chicago, who entered the service from Galena, in
May, 1861, as captain of a company, accompanied by Capt. Grant. Col. Robb,
f living in Chicago, has also been consulted, as well as the records at Springfield.
648 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
dent, Charles H. Lanphier, and William Thomas; secretary*
George Judd.
Since the Black-Hawk war, the office of adjutant -general
had lapsed into a state of "innocuous desuetude." It had been
without "honor or profit," the people being so absorbed in
their ordinary pursuits as to have neither time nor inclination
for cultivating the "martial art which warriors love." Thomas
S. Mather had been appointed to the office by Gov. Bissell, in
1858, and had developed a decided fondness and marked apti-
tude for the organization of military companies. He took a
just pride in awakening the military spirit among young men
of his acquaintance in Springfield and other large towns. As
early as February, he had been sent by the governor on a con-
fidential mission to Gen. Scott, at Washington, for the purpose
of procuring arms for the State, and had succeeded in obtain-
ing an order on the St. Louis arsenal for 10,000 muskets. The
demand for these guns was not made at the time, owing to
the grave doubts of those in authority, of their being able
to execute it in the then disturbed condition of public sentiment
in St. Louis. In April, Capt. James H. Stokes of Chicago, on
hearing of the difficulty, volunteered to obtain the arms at all
hazards. Having received from Gov. Yates the necessary
authority, he was admitted into the arsenal, and although in-
formed by the commandant that the secessionists, who were on
the watch, would not permit him to remove them, he had the
arms boxed ready for shipment. On the night of April 25,
he caused the steamer City of Alton to be brought to the arsenal
wharf, and before daylight steamed up the river for Alton with
10,000 muskets, 500 new rifle-carbines, 500 revolvers, besides
some cannon and cartridges. It was a daringly-planned and
successfully-executed expedition the first of the war in the
West, and gave to Illinois the arms she so much needed;
which, if not transferred at the time, might possibly have been
seized by the rebels a few days thereafter.
John B. Wyman was appointed first assistant-adjutant-gen-
eral, April 19, and on going to the field as colonel of the
thirteenth infantry, he was succeeded by John S. Loomis, who
had been acting as second assistant. Daniel L. Gold was
appointed second assistant, Aug. 17. Charles H. Adams, after-
RAISING TROOPS. 649
ward lieutenant-colonel of the First artillery, Joseph H. Tucker,
afterward colonel of the Sixty -ninth infantry, John James
Richards of Chicago, and Edward P. Niles, acted at different
times as assistant-adjutant-generals.
The six regiments apportioned to Illinois under the first call
for volunteers were raised, organized, and sent to Cairo during
the latter part of April and first part of May. "In token of
respect to the six Illinois regiments in Mexico," their designated
numbers were to begin with seven and end with twelve, and
they were to be known as the "first brigade Illlinois Volunteers."
Gen. Benjamin M. Prentiss was elected brigadier-general over
Capt. Pope, and was placed in command at Cairo, relieving Gen.
Swift. These six regiments were at first mustered in for only
three months, but at the expiration of their term of service,
2000 out of the 4680 volunteers having reenlisted, they were
reorganized, and remustered for three years.
These first regiments were commanded by the following
officers respectively: Colonels John Cook, Richard J. Oglesby,
Eleazer A. Paine, James D. Morgan, Wm. H. L. Wallace, and
John McArthur.
Under the second call of the president, the ten regiments
one from each congressional district, for whose formation pro-
vision had already been made, were organized from the two
hundred companies immediately tendered, and were mustered
into service within sixty days.*
The layge number of volunteers in excess of what could be
received in Illinois, enlisted in Missouri and other states, a suffic-
ient number in some instances to constitute a majority of their
respective companies and regiments, and which were subse-
quently changed into Illinois regiments, namely, the Ninth
Missouri to the Fifty-ninth Illinois, and the Birge sharpshooters
to the Sixty-sixth Illinois.
In May, June and July, seventeen additional infantry, and
t Numbers, places of muster, dates, and colonels of the ten regiments:
Dixon, May 24, John B. Wyman. 18, Anna, May, 29, Michael K. Lawler.
14, Jacksonville, n 25, John M. Palmer. 19, Chicago, June, 17, John B. Turchin.
15, Freeport, n 24, Thomas J. Turner. 20, Joliet, n 13, Charles C. Marsh.
16, Quincy, 24, Robert F. Smith. 21, Mattoon, n 15, Ulysses S. Grant.
17, Peoria, n 25, Leonard F. Ross. 22, Belleville, n 25, Henry Dougherty.
The First cavalry regiment, Col. Thomas A. Marshall, was organized June 21.
4 2
650
ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
five cavalry regiments were authorized by the secretary of war,
and speedily raised and organized.*
July 22, the day after the first battle of Bull Run, the presi-
dent issued a call for 500,000 troops. On the following day
Gov. Yates responded by tendering thirteen additional infantry
regiments, three of cavalry, and a battalion of artillery, most of
them "now ready to rendezvous," and stating that "Illinois
demands the right to do her full share in the work of preserv-
ing our glorious Union from the assaults of high-handed
rebellion."-f-
In the meantime, a change was effected in the office of
adjutant general. Col. Mather had for some time signified his
desire to go into active service, and retired from the office
November n.J
The position had been previously tendered to Gen. Allen
C. Fuller, at that time a judge of the circuit-court and a man
whose superior executive ability commanded general recogni-
tion. At the time of the retirement of Gen. Mather, Judge
Fuller was again urged to accept this responsible position, if
* They were as follows, in their order : Infantry:
23, James A. Mulligan. 36,
24, Frederick Hecker. 37,
25, Wm. N. Coler. 39,
33, Charles E. Hovey. 40,
34, Edward N. Kirk. 41,
35, Gustavus A. Smith. 42,
T. Lyle Dickey.
Nicholas Greusel.
Julius White.
Austin Light.
Stephen G. Hicks.
Isaac C. Pugh.
William A. Webb.
8,
44, Charles Knobelsdorf.
45, John E. Smith.
47, John Bryner.
52, Isaac Grant Wilson.
55, David Stuart.
John F. Farnsworth.
Robert G. IngersolL
Cavalry: 4.
9, Albert G. Brackett. n,
The following batteries were also organized and mustered in July: Capts. Charles
M. Wffiard's. Ezra Taylor's, Charles Houghteling's, Edward Me Allister's, Peter
Davidson's, Riley Madison's, and Caleb Hopkins'.
t This tender was at once accepted, and under it the following regiments were
organized : Infantry, viz. :
Philip B. Fouke.
John Alex. Logan.
John Logan.
Wm. P. Carlin.
26,
27,
28,
29,
John Mason Loomis.
Nap. B. Buford.
Amory K. Johnson.
James S. Reardon.
30,
32.
38,
43,
46,
48,
49,
5,
Thos. H. Cavanaugh.
t Col. Mather was appointed colonel of the Second regiment of artillery, commis-
sioned Feb. 2, 1862, and served through the war; being mustered out as a brevet
brigadier-general in 1865. He has ever since resided at his old home in Springfield.
Cavalry: 3, Eugene A. Carr. 6.
Julius Raith.
John A. Davis.
Isham N. Haynie.
Wm. R. Morrison.
Moses M. Bane.
7, Wm. Pitt Kellogg.
m
OF fHt
1 : G ; ILLIS2!3
ADJT.-GEN. A. C. FULLER. 651
only temporarily. He acceded to the request and entered
upon the arduous and complicated duties of the post with
marked industry and energy, and with a zeal born only of
loyalty working for months at a time, sixteen hours a day.
He found the office in a condition verging on chaos, the appro-
priation therefor having been too meagre to permit the em-
ployment of a clerical force adequate to the performance of
the immense labor involved in the speedy organization of
regiments and their hurried dispatch to the front.
The position required the exercise of sound judgment, as
well as great firmness, patience, and discretion. The claims of
rival applicants for positions had to be carefully and speedily
weighed, while the amalgamation of squads and detach-
ments into companies, and the latter into regiments, called for
rare tact and fine powers of discrimination. The harmoniz-
ing of incongruous elements and the adjustment of conflicting
demands were difficult, and yet frequent, tasks. There were
also constantly arising delicate questions between the State
and the war department at 'Washington, relative to quotas
and enlistments, particularly during the critical period of
the draft questions whose handling necessitated the employ-
ment of both prudence and diplomacy of the highest order.
The general was always on the side of his State in these
controversies, and guarded jealously the rights of Illinois
volunteers. That exasperating circumstances arose, which
often provoked his endurance, is not surprising. If he treated
adventurers and hangers-on, and sometimes even friends,
with the brusqueness of a Stanton, his manner was usu-
ally hearty and cordial; he was easily approached, and
always found to be the friend of the soldier. The burden of
organizing and sending into the field the 175 regiments of vol-
unteers from Illinois, as well as supervising the subsequent
changes in their organizations, rested mainly on his shoulders,
and to him credit is due, not only for valuable assistance ren-
dered in raising troops in response to the many calls of the
government upon the State, but also for his tireless energy in
promptly organizing and sending them to the field. Indeed,
whether as relates to skill and ability, or the order and system
in the dispatch of business, the office of adjutant general in no
652 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
other state was conducted with greater efficiency than that of
Illinois.*
By December 3, 1861, Illinois had in the field, besides the six
regiments first sent out, 43,000 volunteers and 17,000 in camps
of instruction. During December, 4160 troops enlisted, and
were consolidated with old or new organizations and sent to
the field. And thus nobly had Illinois responded in defense of
the Union during the first year of the war.
The battle of Bull Run, on Sunday, July 21, 1861, resulting
in a signal but unexpected and undeserved victory for the
rebels, proclaimed the fact that the South had entered upon
the struggle with superior preparatory advantages, and a
determination to maintain its position with all the men and
treasure it could command. It also established the fact that
if the United^-States government was to succeed in overcoming
the rebellion, every available resource of its greater popula-
tion and wealth must be brought into requisition.
Before this first important battle, the confederacy had at-
tained its full proportions by admitting the states of South
Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, and Tennessee, making eleven in
all. Kentucky and Missouri had refused to secede, although
representatives from both states were admitted to the confed-
erate congress. Maryland and Delaware had decided also, by
their respective legislatures, to remain in the Union.
The population of the seceding states was 9,103,014; that
of the non-seceding slave-states and the District of Colum-
bia, from which large supplies in men and means were fur-
nished to the rebellion, was 3,137,282. The population of the
free-states was 19,128,143, making a preponderance of numbers
in favor of the United States of about two to one. The pro-
portion of wealth and resources was also no less favorable to
the North.
* Under supplemental authority from the secretary of war, August 14, 1861, the
following regiments were raised : Infantry :
51, Gilbert Cummings. 57, Silas D. Baldwin. 62, James M. True.
53, Wm. H. W. Cushman. 58, Wm. F. Lynch. 63, Francis Mora.
54, Thomas W. Harris. 60, Silas C. Toler. 64, D. D. William*
56, Robert Kirkhatn. 61, Jacob Fry. 65, Daniel Cameron,
Cavalry: 5, John J. Updegraff. 12, Arno Voss.
10, James A. Barrett. 13, Joseph B. Bell-
STRENGTH OF THE TWO SECTIONS. 653
On the other hand, the people of the South had manifested
a much more warlike disposition than those of the North, in
all previous wars since that of the Revolution. In that struggle,
however, of the troops enlisted, including continental soldiers
and militia, the seven Northern States, with a population only
slightly exceeding that of the six Southern, furnished over
twenty-seven per cent the most men.*
In the war of 1812, which was never popular in New Eng-
land because its prosecution on the sea was regarded as sub-
versive of the commercial interests of that section, although no
reliable data has ever been officially promulgated, it is no doubt
true, as claimed by Pollard, that the South furnished a much
larger number of soldiers than the North. So also in the Mexican
war, New England, fearing that it would result in the acquisi-
tion of more slave-territory and the consequent preponderance
of the Southern States in the national councils,was scarcely
represented, while out of the 73,7/6 volunteers from the entire
country, the South furnished 47,649,'f-
The 4,ooo,<9oo slaves included in the population of the
revolted states, although not available as soldiers, could*
especially in the interior, cultivate cotton, which would
form a valuable medium of exchange with foreign nations, as
well as sugar, corn, and other necessary supplies; so that each
slave rendered as effective and valuable service in the cause of
the rebellion as though he had been a free white man per-
forming the same labor.
The conspirators had not made a leap in the dark, but had
acted upon well-matured plans. Leading men of the South
had been the most prominent and influential in shaping
the affairs of the Nation, in all of its public departments, for
the past ten years. They had also inoculated nearly all the
leading officers of the army from the Southern States with the
virus of secession, so that when the test came they "went with
* Troops sent from each state during the Revolution: Am. State Papers, i, 14.
N. H.
i8,349
R.I.
11,692
Del.
3,783
N. C.
21,969
Mass.
92,562
N.Y.
29,843
Md.
23,476
S. C.
30,858
Conn.
42,831
NJ.
19,282
Va.
52,755
Ga.
12,579
Pa.
IA one
249,554 145.420
t See table, Vol. I, p. 499.
654 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
their states," to which they had been taught to believe they
owed a higher allegiance than to the government which had
educated, commissioned, and supported them. It is true that
many Southern leaders, both in civil and military life, like
Stephens and Lee, had at first opposed secession, yet their
subsequent adherence to the principle when adopted, carried
them to the extent of fighting for it, beyond which they could
not be expected to go. A few, indeed, hesitated to the last, as
did Lieut.-Col. J. B. Magruder, who said to Lincoln, "Every one
else may desert you, Mr. President, but I never will." Yet
within two days thereafter, when the test came, he left his
post and took service with the rebels.
Not only did they have the advantage of a president whose
superior military training had been acquired at a national
school, but for the last four years they had been in possession
and control of the departments of the treasury, war, navy, and
interior, which they had contrived so to cripple and demora-
lize, as to reduce their efficiency to the lowest possible point
Through these advantages and prior dispositions and ar-
rangements, even before the inauguration of Lincoln, they
had become masters, through surrenders by subservient and
sympathizing army officers, of the defensive fortifications of the
United States located in the South, about thirty in number, and
mounting 3000 gun's, which had cost the government over
$20,000,000.*
They had dispersed the army, leaving in Washington a
force of only 653 men, including sappers and miners, and had
so scattered the navy, sending the vessels in commission into
foreign waters, as to leave but 2007 men in all the ports and
receiving-ships on the Atlantic seaboard to manoeuvre vessels
and protect the coast.
They left an empty treasury, after reducing the credit of
the government so low that it had to pay ten per cent interest
for money borrowed to meet ordinary expenses. Such were
the advantages on the side of the revolutionists at the begin-
ning of the war.
* Greeley's "American Conflict," I, 413.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Results of the First Year of the War The Constitutional
Convention of 1862 Further Calls for Troops Yates'
Masterly Appeal Escape from the Draft The Con-
ference of Governors at Altoona Emancipation
Elections of 1862 Twenty-third General Assembly
Election of U.-S. Senator Laws Special Session
The Assembly Prorogued.
/ T V HE military results following the great uprising of the
-L people in the spring and summer of 1861 were not such
as to encourage hopes of immediate success.
It early became apparent that the spontaneity with which the
first calls for troops had been responded to could not be main-
tained. The course of the administration in removing officials
of disloyal proclivities was approved, but when the process of
decapitation -was extended to loyal democrats, there was an
ominous muttering of dissent which was neither unnatural nor
wholly unjustifiable. The democratic party in large numbers
had rallied to the standard of the Union, and it was not agree-
able to reflect that they were to be excluded from a fair partici-
pation in the administration of the government. To revive
party feelings under these circumstances was not difficult. Such
action also afforded a pretext for that large body of southern
sympathizers in all the Western States, who had been silenced
by the first outbreak of patriotic furor, to assert themselves and
become outspoken in their efforts to mould a public sentiment
averse to a successful prosecution of the war.
So absorbed had been the people generally in the enlistment
of troops, and in considering the great issues at stake, that
when the election for members of a constitutional convention
occurred in November, 1861, but little attention was paid to
the selection of delegates. The result was that of the seventy-
five members elected, the democrats, whose leading men were
watchful of their advantage, secured forty-five, and the repub-
licans only twenty-one, while seven were classed as fusionists,
and two as doubtful.
655
656 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The convention met in Springfield, January 7, 1862, and was
organized by the election of Wm. A. Hacker as president, Wm.
M. Springer as secretary, John W. Merritt as assistant-secretary,
and John Schell as sergeant-at-arms.*
It was hoped and expected that under the changed aspect of
national affairs, the members would make some few needed
amendments to the constitution, which all admitted to be neces-
sary, and, without any attempt to disturb the position of affairs
by fundamental changes, bring their deliberations to a speedy
close. But in this reasonable expectation the people were dis-
appointed.
The potential voice of Douglas could be no longer heard, and
taking counsel of their own partisan views and ambitions,
they sat at the capital for nearly three months, like an incubus
upon the well-being of the State and Nation. They began their
work by refusing to take the oath to support the constitution
of the State, prescribed by the law calling the convention into
existence. Having thus taken a stand outside of and above
the instrument they were elected to amend, it was easy for them
to proceed still further, and assume to dictate to and control
the executive and other departments of the state government,
including the courts. They even seriously deliberated whether
they had not the power to elect a United-States senator, to
succeed O. H. Browning. They called for reports-f- from the
* The leading democratic members were : Wm. J. Allen, ex-Gov. French, J. B.
Underwood, S. A. Buckmaster, Timothy R. Young, Anthony Thornton, H. M.
Vandeveer, John M. Woodson, Melville W. Fuller, Albert G. Burr, O. B. Ficklin,
B. S. Edwards, Alexander Starne, A. A. Glenn, J. W. Singleton, Austin Brooks,
Lewis W. Ross, John Dement, Julius Manning, H. K. S. Omelveny, A. D. Duff,
N. H. Purple, Thomas W. McNeeley, and John P. Richmond.
Among the leading republicans were: John Wentworth, Elliott Anthony, A. J.
Joslyn, Geo. W. Pleasants, Alexander Campbell, Elisha P. Ferry, Luther W. Law-
rence, S. B. Stinson, H. B. Childs, and W. W. Orme.
+ They " resolved that the committee on military affairs be instructed to inquire
whether the soldiers sent into the field from the State have been and continue to be
provided for, in all respects, as the troops sent into the field from other states, " and,
if not, whether the neglect was chargeable to " any persons holding office under this
State."
The replies generally received were anything but satisfactory to the convention
one of these was as follows: P ADUC AH, KY., Feb. 16, 1862.
JAMES W. SINGLETON, Esq., Chairman Committee on Military Affairs, Spring-
field, 111. Dear Sir: Your circular dated Jan. 23, 1862, inclosing a resolution of
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1862. 657
governor and other heads of state departments, and assumed
to take supervisory care of Illinois troops in the field.
They asserted not only their supremacy over the constitu-
tion, but their independence of existing laws as well, by in-
structing the state auditor in regard to his official duties in
issuing bank-notes; by ratifying a proposed amendment to the
constitution of the United States, denying the power of con-
gress to abolish or interfere with slavery in any state, notwith-
standing the amendment had been submitted by congress to the
state legislature; and finally, to cap the climax of their absurd
pretensions, by adopting an ordinance appropriating $500,000
for the relief of sick and wounded soldiers. This measure, how-
ever, was passed only after the echoes of the thunder that re-
verberated from the bloody field of Donelson had reached
them, and to allay the feeling of indignation and contempt with
which their proceedings were held in every portion of the State.
The governor had borne with them a long time, and as he
had nothing to conceal had furnished reports as called for; but
at last becoming convinced of the existence of a determination
to annoy and embarrass 1 fefe state government, in a short mes-
sage, sent in response to a opmmunication in reference to the
claims of the Illinois-CentraliRailroad, flatly refused to comply
with their request; and asserted his independence by stating that
" he did not acknowledge the right of the convention to instruct
him in the performance of his duty."
the Illinois Constitutional Convention, came to hand today. Should I give you the
information the resolution calls for, I should make as great an ass of myself as the
convention has of you, by asking you to attend to that which is none of your busi-
ness, and which is also not the business of the convention. If I am rightly informed,
you were elected to make a constitution for the State of Illinois. Why in h don't
you do it? Comparing the equipments of the soldiers of the several states is about
as much your business as it would be my business to inquire into the sanity of the
members of the convention. Suppose the facts are as your resolution would seem
to imply that we are not so well equipped and armed as soldiers from the other
states can you, as a member of the convention, be of any service to us? But I know
and you know that the resolution was offered for a different purpose a purpose for
which every member of the convention should blush with shame to make political
capital.
If the Committee on Military Affairs are so very anxious to exhibit their ability in
inquiring into war matters, I would suggest as the resolution permits me to make
suggestions that it inquire into the history of the Mormon war, in which its vener-
able chairman played so conspicuous a part. I have the honor to be, sir, your
obedient servant, QUINCY McNsiL, Major, Second Illinois Cavalry.
658 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
When the vote was taken in convention upon the adoption of
the constitution prepared, on March 22, there were but forty-
eight members present, forty-four of whom voted in the affirm-
ative and four in the negative. But fifty -four names were
signed to the instrument, and some of these only by way of
authentication Mr. Underwood remarking, that "as long as he
had control of his arm he would never sign such a constitution
as that." Messrs. Wentworth, Sheldon, and Anthony were the
only republicans who affixed their names the two latter by
proxy. Mr. Simpson signed only "by way of authentication."
After the convention adjourned, an organization was effected
between some leading republicans and democrats, equally op-
posed to the newly-drafted instrument, who proposed to defeat
its ratification by the people. And this, not so much because of
the inherent defects of the instrument itself although there
were grave objections to many of its provisions, especially the
proposed innovation of abolishing investigation by a grand-
jury, except in cases of felony but because it shortened the
term of the governor and other state-officers, and introduced
the disturbing element of a general election in the midst of a
domestic war.*
The defeat of the instrument by over 16,000 votes, not in-
cluding those of the soldiers, whose opposition to it, so far as
known, was practically unanimous, was as gratifying to its
opponents as it was a terrible rebuke to those who had so
plainly misunderstood the public temper and misrepresented
the popular will.
The year 1862, so far as military operations were concerned,
opened with a discouraging outlook, which was only dispelled
by the first decisive victory of the war at Fort Donelson on
Feb. 15, and the results of the terrible two days conflict at
Shiloh, April 6 and 7. These successes in the West, however,
were counterbalanced by reverses in the East. Washington was
* Among the means determined upon to defeat the instrument was the publishing
of a pamphlet setting forth in brief the objections to its adoption. The question arose,
who was to write this; one name was suggested and another, but no one could be
agreed upon. At length, " Uncle Jesse " said, " Why, set your man Moses at it
what's the matter with him? He can do it;" and so it was arranged. The pamphlet
" Reasons why the proposed new constitution should not be adopted, " was prepared
in two days and over two hundred thousand copies effectively circulated.
*HE CALL FOR TROOPS IN 1862. 659
threatened, and our army was unable to make that headway
against the rebellion which was expected from so vast an out-
lay of men and means.
On July 6, another call was made for 300,000 additional vol-
unteers; but the people were despondent, and enlistments were
at first slow and half-hearted. Gov. Yates felt that the time
had come for the Nation to avail itself of the services of
colored men and slaves, and believed that by offering this class
proper inducements, a strong diversion against the rebellion
would be made in the slave-states. On July n, he dispatched
an open letter to the president, urging him to summon all men
to the defense of the government, loyalty alone being the divid-
ing line between the Nation and its foes. His closing words
were: "in any event, Illinois will respond to your call; but
adopt this policy, and she will spring like a flaming giant
into the fight."
On August 5, such were the supposed necessities of the gov-
ernment, a call was issued for 300,000 men to serve nine months,
any deficiency in response to which was to be filled through a
draft. The quota of Illinois on these two calls was 52,296, but
as she had already furnished 16,198 men in excess of former
quotas, the claim was made that the total would only be 35,320.
This claim, however, was not allowed by the government, and
the full number was insisted upon. The State was given until
September i to raise this number of men, and thus avoid a draft.
The floating population had already been swept into the
army; the new levies, therefore, must come from the better
classes the permanent, influential, and prosperous citizens.
The country was aroused as never before. Meetings were held
throughout the State, which were addressed by the governor
and others. The patriotic furor was as intense as it was conta-
gious, all classes being affected and moved as by a common
impulse. The farmer left his plow in the furrow, the mechanic
his tools on the bench, the merchant his counter lawyers, doc-
tors, ministers, and laborers, all animated by the same spirit,
rallied to enroll themselves among their country's defenders.
So spontaneous was the response to the president's calls that
before eleven days had elapsed both quotas had been more than
filled a rally to the country's standard as remarkable as it was
660 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
unexampled in the world's history. Six of the new regiments
organized were sent to the field in August, twenty-two in Sep-
tember, thirteen in October, fifteen in November, and three in
December, making an aggregate, with artillery, of fifty-nine
regiments and four batteries, numbering 53,819 enlisted men
and officers. In addition to the above, 2753 men were enlisted
and sent to old regiments. With these and the cavalry regi-
ments organized, the whole number of enlistments under the
two calls was 68,416, making a grand total in the field under
all calls, at the close of the year 1862, of 135,440 volunteers.
The army of the United States was made up from enlist-
ments through the agencies of the several states. The respon-
sibility and duty of this vast work devolved mostly upon their
respective executives. It was through them and their military
departments that the primary but indispensable work of organi-
zation was to be accomplished; and without their active and
earnest cooperation the patriotism of the people could not be
fully and fairly expressed. The general conduct of the war
by the administration of President Lincoln had frequently
been the subject of animadversion, if not of strong censure, even
among his friends and supporters. For the purpose of consult-
ing in regard to the general good and agreeing upon measures
to be recommended for adoption, a meeting of the governors
of the loyal states was called by the executives of Virginia,
Pennsylvania, and Ohio, to meet at Altoona, Pa., Sept. 24.
Gov. Yates was accompanied by state-officers Dubois and
Hatch, Private-Secretary Moses, and Gen. Me Clernand. There
were also present, Andrew G. Curtin of Pennsylvania; David
Tod, Ohio; Francis H. Pierpont, Virginia; John A. Andrew,
Massachusetts; Austin Blair, Michigan; Samuel J. Kirkwood,
Iowa; Edward Salomon, Wisconsin; Augustus W. Bradford,
Maryland; Nathaniel S. Berry, New Hampshire; and William
Sprague, Rhode Island.
The conference was held with closed doors, and the discus-
sions of the grave questions conducted with the earnestness
befitting the occasion covered a wide field, as was understood
at the time, but no report of the proceedings was ever made
public. One question of absorbing interest, however, that relat-
ing to slavery, had been disposed of in advance by the presi-
GOVERNORS CONFER WITH THE PRESIDENT. 66l
dent's preliminary proclamation of emancipation, which met
them at Altoona, and the promulgation of which, it was sug-
gested, was hastened to forestall contemplated action by the
governors in that direction.
The distinguished party arrived in Washington on Sept. 26,
and were received by the president at twelve o'clock. The con-
ference was strictly private, the only person present not a
member being the private secretary of Gov. Yates. Gov. An-
drew, as chairman of the executives, delivered the address,
which had evidently been carefully prepared, and was read
from manuscript.
He assured the president of the personal and official respect
of his visitors, and of their determination under all circumstances
to aid in the maintainance of his constitutional authority; pledg-
ing their support of all measures tending toward a speedy
termination of the war; and congratulating him upon the
proclamation of emancipation.
The president, without hesitation or embarrassment, and with
the familiarity of one who had thoroughly studied the subject,
replied, taking up each topic treated upon in the governors'
address.
The formalities of the conference being concluded, there fol-
lowed an unbending of official stiffness, and a free interchange
of views upon the conduct of the war. Some of the gov-
ernors had evidently sought this interview for the purpose of
informing the chief executive how much they knew about war,
and suggesting easy methods of solving what had been consid-
ered difficult problems. But the knowledge and depth of
thought disclosed by Lincoln in conversing, not only upon
the various points referred to in the address, but also upon
such questions as the exchange of prisoners, the removal of
McClellan, and the effect of proposed emancipation, convinced
every one present that the president had nothing to learn
from them.
The result of the conference was decidedly beneficial to the
country. The governors returned to their states with reassured
hope, with convictions of the righteousness of the national
cause intensified, and with reestablished confidence in the
judgment and wisdom of the president and his cabinet.
662 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The democratic state -convention was held September 10,
over forty counties being unrepresented. James C. Allen
was nominated for congressman at large, Alexander Starne for
state treasurer, and John P. Brooks for superintendent of public
instruction.
The first resolution in the platform adopted placed the de-
mocracy squarely in favor of the war, and was as follows:
"Resolved, that the constitution and laws made in pursuance
thereof, are and must remain the supreme law of the land; and
as such must be preserved and maintained in their proper and
rightful supremacy; that the rebellion now in arms must be
suppressed; and it is the duty of all good citizens to aid the
general government in all legal and constitutional measures,
necessary and proper to the accomplishment of this end." This
was the position of war democrats.
The second resolution denounced "the doctrines of Southern
and Northern extremists as alike inconsistent with the federal
constitution."
In advance of the issuance of the proclamation of emancipa-
tion, it was declared that "we protest in the name of ourselves
and of our children, and in the name of all we hold dear, against
the resolution of congress pledging the Nation to pay for all
negroes which may be emancipated by authority of any South-
ern States;" and that it was the duty of all good citizens to
sustain the president against the purpose of the radical repub-
licans, to induce him to "pervert the effort to suppress a wicked
rebellion into a war for the emancipation of slaves, and for the
overthrow of the constitution." They also declared against the
entrance of free negroes into the State; against the illegal
arrest of citizens; and all unjust interference with the freedom
of speech and of the press.
The republican, or Union convention, as it was called, was
held Sept. 24. Eben C. Ingersoll was nominated for congress-
man at large, and the then incumbents, Wm. Butler and New-
ton Bateman, respectively, for state treasurer and superintend-
ent of public instruction.
The platform fully endorsed the administration in its efforts
to suppress the rebellion, including the "proclamation of free-
dom and confiscation, issued by the president, Sept. 22, 1862,
EMANCIPATION. 663
as a great and imperative war measure, essential to the salva-
tion of the Union."
A consideration of the events which, in their natural and in-
evitable sequence, led to the ultimate extinction of slavery may
serve to show, more clearly than does any other page of the
history of the American civil war, how deeply that cancer
upon the civilization of the nineteenth century had thrust its
roots into the intellectual convictions, if not into the affections,
of the people. Even in the free-soil states, and among those
who denounced the system in the abstract, there could be found
a large and influential element who were ready, reluctantly, to
admit the inviolability of its legal environment; while among
those whose life-long affiliations had been with the party in
whose counsels southern influence had dominated, ttyere were
not a few who were disposed to regard any interference with it,
even in time of war, as an indefensible violation of vested
rights, if not an act of downright sacrilege. Whatever might
be thought of the effect of rebellion upon other property rights,
human chattels formed an exception, and the slaveholder, as
such, was hedged about with a sort of kingly divinity. Even
commanders of the Union forces would without hesitation use
any other description of captured property for the benefit of
their armies, but if a negro slave chanced to come into their
possession, he was returned to his master, soldiers being detailed
and the march delayed, if necessary, for that purpose.
The first legislative action which tended toward the emanci-
pation of the slaves was an amendment to the first confiscation
act, introduced by Senator Trumbull, and passed by congress,
August 6, 1 86 1, the design of which was to obviate, in part, the
sensitive scruples of Union officers in the discharge of this sup-
posedly delicate duty. It provided that the claim of the owner
to the labor of any slave, whom he should require or permit to
take up arms, or to work or be employed in any military service
against the United States, should be forfeited. But this enter-
ing wedge only reached a little way, and the unfortunate slaves,
who flocked to the headquarters of our armies in the belief
that they would be liberated, found, as a rule, their hopes
blasted and themselves relegated to servitude.
The sentimental views of such army officers, however, found
664 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
no response in the hearts of the great body of union-loving
citizens in the free -states, and, after several premonitory
motions, congress, on March 13, 1862, passed an act ordaining
an additional article of war, by which all officers or persons in
the military or naval service of the United States were pro-
hibited "from employing any of the forces under their com-
mand for the purpose of returning fugitives from service or
labor, who may have escaped from any persons to whom such
service or labor is claimed to be due;" and any officer who
might "be found guilty by a court-martial of violating this
article," was to "be dismissed from the service."
A farther and important step forward was taken on April 16,
in the passage by congress of a law abolishing slavery in the
District of Columbia. This was followed, in July, 1862, by the
celebrated "confiscation act," by which it ,was provided that all
slaves of rebels escaping to the lines of the Union army, or
captured from or deserted by such rebels, or within any place
occupied by rebel forces and afterward occupied by the forces
of the United States, should be forever free. This same con-
gress also practically repealed the fugitive-slave law, and pro-
hibited the introduction of slavery into the territories of the
United States.
The passage of these various measures placed President Lin-
coln between two fires. He was urged, on the one side, to
hasten emancipation, and on the other, to avoid a policy which
might alienate the support of Union slave-holders. When Gen.
Fremont, commanding "the department of Missouri, in August,
1 86 1, had issued his proclamation declaring that the slaves of
all persons in Missouri who had taken an active part with the
enemies of the government should be free, the president, against
the protest of the general, issued an order so modifying the
proclamation as to make it apply only to such slaves as were
actually employed in military service.
At the request of the president, who was still hopeful of de-
taching the slave-holders of the border states from any sympa-
thy with the rebellion, congress, on April 10, passed a resolu-
tion declaring that the United States ought to cooperate with,
and afford pecuniary aid to, any state which might adopt
gradual emancipation; and on July 12, Lincoln held, by his
THE PROCLAMATION. 66$
own invitation, a conference with the congressmen from those
states, in which he urged upon them the wisdom and expediency
of their cooperation in effecting such a result. But so far from
yielding to his solicitation, the majority of those present plainly
advised him to "avoid all interference, direct or indirect, with
slavery in the Southern States."
In all of his dealings with this subject, the president had
manifested the soundest judgment as well as remarkable fore-
sight. Before the war he had been convinced that the way to
abolish slavery was not to attack it in the states, but to educate
the public mind to the belief that it was wrong, and should not
be permitted to go into the territories. So now, well knowing
that the rebellion could be most surely overthrown by under-
mining its corner-stone, and that every Union victory was also
a blow for freedom, he shifted the ground of his action against
slavery, from that of its inherent wrong and injustice, to that of
the expediency of emancipation as a war measure and its
necessity as a means of saving the Union. In his letter to
Horace Greeley, August, 1862, he declared that his paramount
object was to save the Union and not either to preserve or
destroy slavery.
"If I could save the Union without freeing a slave, I would
do it," he said; and continued, "if I could save it by freeing all
the slaves, I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing some
and leaving others alone, I would also do that. What I do
about slavery and the colored race, I do because it helps to save
the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not be-
lieve it would help to save the Union." Knowing, however,
better than congress or any of his advisers, the feeling of the
people of the Western States upon this question, and the effect
which the adoption of a policy of emancipation, even as a
military necessity, would have upon them, he long hesitated
to take the initiatory step of promulgating his first proclama-
tion of September 22, 1862.
The preliminary proclamation was not favorably received by
the country generally. While it served to "fire the southern
heart," and intensify the rebellious feeling in the seceding states,
it called forth no encouraging response, nor was it followed by
any indications of reviving loyalty, in view of compensated
43
666 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
emancipation, in the border states. While many strong friends
of the Union in this State regretted the step the president had
taken, some thinking he had not gone far enough and others
that he had acted prematurely, the issuance of the proclama-
tion afforded opportunity for a large and influential faction to
crystalize and concentrate their hostility to the administration
and to the prosecution of the war. While their opposition had
previously been confined to a criticism of the civil adminis-
tration, including appointments, they eagerly seized upon this
avowal of the president's policy, and made it the occasion
for speaking more plainly and positively, alleging that the
war was being waged for the subjugation of the South and the
abolition of slavery, and demanding that it should cease. Some
of these objectors expressed their sincere convictions, but with
a large majority it was mainly a partisan cry. They supposed
they saw an opportunity to overthrow the party in power,
obtain possession of the state government, and thus pave the
way for the election of a president in 1864. This was the in-
tended program, and it came near consummation.
Repugnance to a threatened draft the continued and in-
creasing depreciation of the state-currency the low wages paid
the soldiers the president's proposition of compensated eman-
cipation the uncertainty of the final outcome of the war were
reasons urged at the November election in this State with much
plausibility and decided effect against the party in power. The
result was all that the opposition could have wished. On state
officers the administration was defeated by over sixteen thou-
sand majority.* There was a falling off, however, in the aggre-
gate vote polled, of over 75,000, representing the absent vol-
* Comparative table of election returns in nine states in the fall of 1862:
1860, PRESIDENT. 1862, GOVERNOR, CONG., ETC
LINCOLN. ALL OTHERS. UNION. OPPOSITION.
New York, - 362,646 312,510 295,897 306,649
New Jersey, - 58,324 62,801 46,710 61,307
Pennsylvania, - 268,030 208,412 215,616 219,140
Ohio, - - - 231,610 210,831 178,755 184,332
Illinois, - - 172,161 160,215 120,116 136,662
Indiana, - - 139,033 133,110 118,517 128,160
Michigan, - 88,480 66,267 68,716 62,102
Wisconsin, - - 86, no 66,070 66,801 67,985
Iowa, - 70,409 57,922 66,014
REVOLUTION OF THE BALLOT. 667
unteers, three-fourths of whom would doubtless have voted the
Union ticket. The opposition secured a like success in New
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, while
Michigan and Wisconsin were carried by the republicans by a
small majority only.
The final proclamation of emancipation was issued, as prom-
ised, on January I, 1863. No state-paper ever produced an
effect so momentous upon the Nation as this. To the patriot,
it was the harbinger of a restored Union, whose foundations
were to rest upon human freedom; to the disloyal, it was
at once a menace and a blow. Hundreds of thousands of
slaves had already been freed under the laws of congress
and the operations of war; and whether the proclamation,
extending beyond the lines of military occupation in the
rebel states designated as such, had the effect of emancipating
any slaves, was happily a question which culminating events
left it unnecessary to decide. But as an exercise of the war
powers of the executive in supplementing the anti-slavery legis-
lation of congress, and as a formal announcement of a policy of
emancipation which the military and naval authorities of the
United States must recognize and maintain, no less than as an
authorization of the employment of former slaves in the army
and navy, its moral effect was as far-reaching as it was benefi-
cent. It strengthened the arm and imparted fresh vigor to the
efforts of the patriot at home, while it gave the country a posi-
( tion among the nations of the world higher than it could have
hoped to attain in centuries of traffic in the bodies and souls
of men.
The revolution of the ballot in Illinois was complete. The
democrats not only elected their state officers, but carried the
legislature also, securing a majority of one in the senate and
twenty-eight in the house.
The twenty-third general assembly convened Jan. 5, 1863.*
* Members of the twenty-third general assembly :
SENATE: Democrats William Berry, McDonough; Israel Blanchard, Jackson; Wm. ft. Green,
Massac; Hugh Gfegg, Williamson; Colby K'napp, Logan; John T. Lindsay, Peoria; Albert C.
Mason, Knox; Samuel Mcfet, Effingham; James M. feodgers, Clinton; William A. J. Sparks, suc-
cessor to Rodgers; Bryant T. Scofield, Hancock; William H. Underwood, St. Clair; Horatio M.
Vandeveer, Christian; Linus E. Worcester, Greene. Republicans John H. Addams, Stephenson;
Edward B. Allen, Kane; Washington Bushnell, LaSalle; Henry E. Dummer, Cass; Isaac Funk,
McLean; Cornelius Lansing, Me Henry; Alonzo W. Mack, Kankakee; William B. Ogden, Cook;
668 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Samuel A. Buckmaster of Madison County was elected speaker,
receiving fifty-two votes to twenty-five for Luther W. Lawrence
of Boone, and one for Selden M. Church. John Q. Harmon
was chosen clerk, and Charles Walsh, door-keeper. Manning
Mayfield was the choice of the senate for secretary, and David
J. Waggoner for sergeant-at-arms.
Mr. Buckmaster had already served two terms in the senate
and four years in the house. He had also been a member of
the state constitutional convention. He was a gentleman of
popular manners and fine address. His remarks on taking the
chair sounded the keynote of the future reactionary proceed-
ings of this afterward notorious legislature. Among other
things, he said: "I trust that you will feel it your duty to enter
the solemn protest of the people of Illinois against the impolicy
and imbecility which, after such heroic and long - continued
sacrifices, still leaves this unholy rebellion not only not subdued,
but without any immediate prospect of termination, and I trust
that your action may have a potent influence in restoring to
our distracted country the peace and union of by-gone days?
On the evening of the day the legislature convened, a large
and enthusiastic meeting of those opposed to the administra-
Joseph Peters, Vermilion; Thomas J. Pickett, Rock Island; Daniel Richards, Whiteside; Jasper
D. Ward, Cook.
HOUSE: Democrats Perry A. Armstrong, Grundy; Charles C. Boyer, Will; MicRael Brandt,
Cook; William J. Brown, Adams; Samuel A. Buckmaster, Madison; Albert C.'Burr, Scott; John
S. Busey, Champaign; Thomas B/Cabaen, Mercer; Gustavus F. Goffeen, Montgomery; Ghauncey
L. Conger, White; Philander Dougherty, Clark; Jefferson A. Davis, Woodford; John f). Dent, La
Salle; George Dent, 'Putnam; John N. English, Jersey; James M. Epler, Cass; Jesse-R. Ford,
Clinton; Melville W. Fullter, Cook; John Gerrard, Edgar; Theodore C. Gilson, LaSalle; John G.
Graham, Fulton; James M. Herd, Wayne; Thomas B. .Hicks, Massac; James Holgate, Stark;
Charles A. Keyes, Sangamon; John Kistler, Rock Island; Lyman-Lacy, Menard; Robert? H. Me
Cann, Fayette; Edward Menard, Randolph; John W. Merritt, Marion; Ambrose Ml- Miller, Logan;
Stephen W. Miles, Monroe; John Monroe, Vermilion; Milton M. Morrell, Hancock; Wilfiim W.
O'Brien, Peoria; David W. Odell,' Crawford; Mercy B. ?atty, Livingston; Henry K.-Peffer, War-
ren; Lewis G. Reid, McDonough; Reuben Roessler, Shelby; Joseph Sharon, Schuyler; James M.
Sharp, Wabash; _Simeon P. Shop*, Fulton; James H, Smith, Union; John T. Springer, Morgan;
John Ten Brook, Edgar; James B. /Turner, Gallatin; Charles A. Walker, Macoupin; Jarac M.
Washburn, Williamson; William Watkins, Bond; Elias Wenger, Tazewell; John W. Wescott, Clay;
Alexander E. Wheat, Adams; Scott Wike.- Pike; William B. Witt, Greene; Henry M. Williams,
Jefferson. Republicans Jacob P. Black, Kendall; Lorenz Brehtano, Cook; Horatio*C. Burchard;
Stephenson: Joseph F. Chapman, Carroll; Selden M. Church, Winnebago; Ansell B.VCook, Cook;
Francis A. Eastman, Cook; James Elder, Macon; George W. Gage, Cook; James Y- Gale, Ogle;
Wm. E. Ginther; Cook; Addison* Goodell, Iroquois; Henry Greene, JoDaviess; Elijah fil. Haines,
Lake, Demas L. Harris, Lee; Joseph N. Holyoke, Knox; Daniel R. Howe, Bureau; Chaun^y A.
Lake, Kankakee; Nelson Lay, Henry; Luther Wf Lawrence, Boone; Sylvester 5- Mann, Kane;
John W. Newport, 'Grundy; Westel W. Sedgwick, DeKalb; Leander Smith, Whiteside; Boyington
Tenney, DeWitt; John Thomas, St. Clair; Amos G. Throop, Cook; Joseph B. Uritierwood, St
Clair; Thadeus B. Wakema'n, Me Henry.
THE TWENTY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 669
tion was held in the hall of the house for the purpose of hear-
ing from the several democratic candidates for the United-
States senate. Speeches were made by Wm. A. Richardson,
Samuel S. Marshall, Richard T. Merrick, and Wm. C. Goudy.
The speakers vied with each other in denouncing the president
as a usurper, and in characterizing the war as barbarous and
disgraceful. A resolution was unanimously adopted, declaring
"That the emancipation proclamation of the president is as un-
warrantable in military as in civil law, a gigantic usurpation, at
once converting the war, professedly commenced by the admin-
istration for the vindication of the authority of the constitu-
tion, into the crusade for the sudden, unconditional, and violent
liberation of 3,000,000 of negro slaves; a result which would not
only be a total subversion of the federal Union, but a revo-
lution in the social organization of the Southern States. * *
The proclamation invites servile insurrection as an element in
this emancipation crusade, a means of warfare, the inhumanity
and diabolism of which are without example in civilized war-
fare, and which we denounce, and which the civilized world will
denounce, as an ineffaceable disgrace to the American name."
Gov. Yates, in his message delivered on the next day, made
a full report of the part taken by Illinois in the war, including
provision made for the sick and wounded, and amounts ex-
pended therefor. He also, notwithstanding the adverse major-
ity against him in the body addressed, discussed the overshad-
owing issues of the war, calmly and fearlessly, insisting upon
the patriotic duty of every citizen to stand by the government
to the last.
He justified the attitude of the administration by the follow-
ing arguments: "After years of deliberate premeditation and
secret preparation, they [the states in rebellion] perpetrated the
act of secession, denied their allegiance to the constitution,
set up an independent government, despoiled the Nation of its
money, its arms, and munitions of war, seized upon our forts,
insulted our flag, fired upon our soldiers at Sumter, plunged
our hitherto peaceful people into a sanguinary, fratricidal war,
filled every homestead with grief, and covered the land with
two hundred thousand fresh-made graves."
He defended the proclamation of emancipation, expressing
6/0 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
views in advance even of those of the president. He said,
"but now the necessity of emancipation is forced upon us by
the inevitable events of the war, and is made constitutional by
the act of the rebels themselves; and the only road out of this
war is by blows aimed at the heart of the rebellion, in the entire
demolition of the evil which is the cause of all our present
fearful complications. * The rebellion, which was designed to
perpetuate slavery and plant it upon an enduring basis, is now,
under a righteous providence, being made the instrument to
destroy it. * I demand the removal of slavery. In the name
of my country, whose peace it has disturbed, and which it has
plunged into civil war; in the name of the heroes it has slain;
in the name of justice, whose highest tribunals it has corrupted
and prostituted to its basest ends and purposes; in the name of
Washington and Jefferson, and all the old patriots who struggled
round about the camps of liberty, and who looked forward to
its early extinction; in the name of progress, civilization, and
liberty; and in the name of God himself, I demand the utter
and entire demolition of this heaven-cursed wrong of human
bondage."
Having made these clear and unmistakable utterances on
the main question, he approached by no roundabout method
the attitude of those opposed to the administration. He said,
"the secessionists have hoped for success on three grounds: First,
upon our supposed inferior valor; second, upon foreign aid; and
third, upon a divided North. The two first have failed them.
They now despair of any foreign intervention, and on many
battle-fields the cool bravery of our northern troops has proved
an overmatch for the fiery, impetuous valor of the South. But
can I truthfully say that their strongest hope and main reliance,
a divided North, has failed them?" Proceeding to amplify this
danger, he remarked: "when the North shall present an undi-
vided front a stern and unfaltering purpose to exhaust every
available means to suppress the rebellion, then the last strong
prop of the latter will have fallen from under it, and it will
succumb and be for peace. Should division mark our counsels,
or any considerable portion of our people give signs of hesita-
tion, then a shout of exultation will go up throughout all the
hosts of rebeldom, and bonfires and illuminations be kindled
ELECTION OF UNITED-STATES SENATOR. 6/1
in every southern city, hailing our divisions as the sure harbin-
gers of their success. Can we," he continued, "consent to send a
keen and fatal pang to the heart of every Illinois soldier, now
fighting for his country, by ill-timed party-strife at home?"
Speaking of the appeals which were made in some newspapers
for a separation from New England, he said, "Not a drop of New-
England blood courses in my veins. * I propose not to be the
eulogist of New England, but she is indissolubly bound to us
by all the bright memories of the past, by all the glory of the
present, by all our hopes of the future. I shall always glory in
the fact that I belong to a republic in the galaxy of whose
shining stars New England's is among the brightest and best.
Palsied be the hand that would sever the ties which bind the
East and West."
This singularly bold and able state-paper, while it was hailed
with joy by friends of the Union, fell upon the hitherto trium-
phant majority in the legislature like a bomb-shell from an un-
expected battery. No attempt was made to answer or even to
meet its arguments, but opposition might be aroused against
the cause which the governor so eloquently advocated, and by
the adoption of a policy of obstruction his resources might be
crippled and his hands virtually tied.
On January 12, the two houses met for the purpose of elect-
ing a United-States senator to fill the unexpired term of Judge
Douglas, in which O. H. Browning was now serving. Wm. A.
Richardson, having been nominated in caucus, was elected, re-
ceiving sixty-five votes to thirty-eight cast for Richard Yates.
The several resolutions on the subject of the rebellion intro-
duced by those opposed to the administration as well as by its
supporters having been referred to the committee on federal
relations, majority and minority reports were presented on Feb-
ruary 4 and 5. That of the majority, the adoption of which
by the house was merely a question of time, embraced two
general propositions opposition to the further prosecution of
the war under present administration methods, recommending
an armistice, the calling of a national convention to conclude
terms of peace, and appointing commissioners to secure these
results.
The preamble to these resolutions, after denouncing the sus-
6/2 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
pension of the writ of habeas corpus and the arrest of citizens not
subject to military law, declared that "the attempted enforce-
ment of compensated emancipation, the proposed taxation of the
laboring white man to purchase the freedom and secure the ele-
vation of the negro; the transportation of negroes into the State
of Illinois in defiance of the repeatedly-expressed will of the
people; the arrest and imprisonment of the representatives of
a free and sovereign state; the dismemberment of the State of
Virginia, erecting within her boundaries a new state, without
the consent of her legislature, are, each and all, arbitrary and un-
constitutional, a usurpation of the legislative functions, and a
suspension of the judicial departments of the state and federal
governments, subverting the constitution state and federal
invading the reserved rights of the people and the sovereignty
of the states, and, if sanctioned, destructive of the Union
establishing upon the common ruins of the liberties of the
people and the sovereignty of the state a consolidated military
despotism."
The first resolution declared "that the war having been
diverted from its first avowed object to that of subjugation and
the abolition of slavery, a fraud, both legal and moral, had
been perpetrated upon the brave sons of Illinois, who have so
nobly gone forth to battle for the constitution and laws."
The second resolution declared "that we believe the further
prosecution of the present war can not result in the restoration
of the Union and the preservation of the constitution as our
fathers made it, unless the president's emancipation proclama-
tion be withdrawn."
The third resolution declared "that we are unalterably opposed
to a severance of the Union."
The fourth favored assembling a national convention "to so
adjust our national difficulties, that the states may hereafter live
together in harmony."
The fifth memorialized congress, the administration at Wash-
ington, and the executives and legislatures of the several states
"to take such immediate action as shall secure an armistice, in
which the rights and safety of the government shall ' be fully
protected, for such length of time as may be necessary to en-
able the people to meet in convention as aforesaid."
PEACE RESOLUTIONS. 6/3
The sixth provided for appointing commissioners to confer
with congress and otherwise aid in securing the above results,
as follows: Stephen T. Logan, Samuel S. Marshall, H. K. S.
Omelveny, Wm. C. Goudy, Anthony Thornton, and John D.
Caton, all of them, except the first named, being in sympathy
with the sentiments expressed in the resolutions.
No one not present at the time can imagine the bitterness,
even ferocity of temper, with which these resolutions were dis-
cussed. They absorbed the entire attention of the members to
the exclusion of all regular business, until February 12, when
they were adopted by the strictly party- vote of 52 to 28.
The political program marked out by the majority included
the taking of a recess from Feb. 14 to June 2, in order that
the report of the peace commissioners, named in the foregoing
resolution, might be, by that time, received and acted upon.
The recess-resolution passed both houses, after repeated delays
and the employment by the minority of all known parliamen-
tary tactics; but the armistice-resolutions, owing to the death
of Senator Rogers, failed to pass the senate. It was during
this period of mental collision and fiery debate, that the ven-
erable Isaac Funk, the sturdy, patriotic senator from McLean
County, astonished the opposition in the senate by a speech as
unlocked for as it was powerful and crushing in its expression
of his own sentiments and those of the supporters of the
administration generally. It was his first and only speech,
but his plain, blunt words, spoken under intense excitement,
proved at once the most startling and the most effective speech
of the session. In vain did the presiding officer call for order,
vain was all effort to check him. To restrain the enthusiasm
of the public who filled the galleries was as impossible as to
dam a mountain torrent, and to call the old man to order was
as idle as to attempt to turn the raging whirlwind from its
course. He spoke as follows:
"Mr. Speaker: I can sit in my chair no longer and see
so much by-playing going on. These men are trifling with
the best interests of the country. They should have asses'
ears to set off their heads, or they are traitors and seces-
sionists at heart in this senate. Their actions prove it. Their
speeches prove it. Their gibes and laughter and cheers
6/4 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
here nightly, when their speakers get up to denounce the war
and the administration, prove it. I can sit here no longer and
not tell these traitors what I think of them; and while so tell-
ing them, I am responsible, myself, for what I say. I stand upon
my own bottom. I am ready to meet any man on this floor in
any manner, from a pin's point to the mouth of a cannon, upon
this charge against these traitors. [Great applause from the
gallery.] I am an old man of sixty-five. I came to Illinois a
poor boy; I have a little something for myself and family. I
pay $3000 a year in taxes. I am willing to pay $6000; aye
$12,000! [Striking his desk a tremendous blow, sending the
ink whirling in the air.] Aye, I am willing to pay my whole
fortune, and then give my life to save my country from these
traitors that are seeking to destroy it.
"Mr, Speaker, you must excuse me; I could sit no longer in
my seat and calmly listen to these traitors. My heart, that
feels for my poor country, would not let me. My heart, that
cries out for the lives of our brave volunteers in the field, that
these t'raitors at home are destroying by thousands, would not
let me. My heart, that bleeds for the widows and orphans at
home, would not let me. Yes, these traitors and villains in the
senate [striking the desk a blow with his clenched fist, that
made the chamber resound] are killing my neighbors' boys,
now fighting in the field. I dare to say this to these traitors
right here, and I am responsible for what I say to any or all of
them. [Cheers.] Let them come on now, right here. I am
sixty-five years old, and I have made up my mind to risk my
life right here, on this floor, for my country. [This announce-
ment was received with great cheering. Here the crowd
gathered around him his seat being near the railing to pro-
tect him from violence, while many sympathetic eyes flashed
defiance.] These men sneered at Col. Mack, a few days since.
He is a small man, but I am a large man. I am ready to meet
any of them in place of Col. Mack. I am large enough for
any of them, and I hold myself ready for them now and at
any time. [Cheering from the galleries.]
"Mr. Speaker, these traitors on this floor should be provided
with hempen collars. They deserve them. They deserve
hanging, I say. [Raising his voice and striking the desk with
*
SENATOR FUNK'S SPEECH. 675
great violence.] The country would be the better of swinging
them up. I go for hanging them, and I dare to tell them so,
right here, to their traitorous faces. Traitors should be hung.
It would be the salvation of the country to hang them. For
that reason I must rejoice at it. [Cheers.]
"Mr, Speaker, I must beg the pardon of the gentlemen in
this senate who are not traitors, but true, loyal men, for what
I have said. I only intend it and mean it for secessionists at
heart. They are here in this senate. I see them gibe, and
smirk, and grin at a true Union man. Must I defy them? I
stand here ready for them and dare them to come on. [Cheer-
ing.] What man, with the heart of a patriot, could stand this
treason any longer? I have stood it long enough. I will
stand it no longer. [Cheers.] I denounce these men and their
aiders and abettors as rank traitors and secessionists. Hell
itself could not spew out a more traitorous crew than some
of the men that disgrace this legislature, this State, and this
country. For myself, I protest against and denounce their
treasonable acts. I have voted against their measures; I will
do so to the end. I will denounce them as long as God gives
me breath; and I am ready to meet the traitors themselves
here or anywhere, and fight them to the death. [Prolonged
cheers.] I said I paid $3000 a year taxes. I do not say it to
brag of it. It is my duty, yes, Mr. Speaker, my privilege to
do it. But some of these traitors here, who are working night
and day to put some of their miserable little bills and claims
through the legislature, to take money out of the pockets of
the people, are talking about high taxes. They are hypocrites
as well as traitors. I heard some of them talking about high
taxes in this way, who did not pay $5 to the support of the
government. I denounce them as hypocrites as well as trai-
tors. [Cheers.]
"The reason they pretend to be afraid of high taxes is that
they do not want to vote money for the relief of the soldiers.
They want to embarrass the government and stop the war.
They want to aid the secessionists to conquer our boys in the
field. They care about high taxes! They are picayune men
anyway, and never hope or expect to. This is the excuse of
the traitors. [Cheers.] Mr. Speaker, excuse me. I feel for
6/6 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
my country, in this, her hour of danger, from the tips of my
toes to the ends of my hair. That is the reason I speak as I
do. I can not help it. I am bound to tell these men to their
teeth what they are, and what the people, the brave, loyal
people, think of them. [Cheering, which the speaker vainly
attempted to stop by rapping on his desk, but really aided,
not unwillingly.]
"Mr. Speaker, I have said my say. I am no speaker. This
is the only speech I have ever made, and I do n't know that it
deserves to be called a speech. But I could not sit still any
longer and see these scoundrels and traitors work out their
hellish schemes to destroy the Union. They have my senti-
ments; let them one and all make the most of them. I am
ready to back up all I say, and I repeat it, to meet these trai-
tors in any manner they may choose, from a pin's point to
the mouth of a cannon."*
With a parting whack on his desk, the loyal old gentleman
resumed his seat, amidst the wildest cheering and the clapping
of hancls.
One of the first of the few laws passed at this session was
that appropriating $10,000 for the relief of Illinois volunteers
wounded at Vicksburg and Murfreesborough. The commis-
sioners appointed by the legislature Lewis D. Erwin, Wm.
W. Anderson, and Ezekiel Boyden had distributed the amount
where most needed, faithfully and efficiently. Those reached
by this appropriation were but a few of the many needing
like assistance. Accordingly, Gov. Yates made a most elo-
quent appeal in a special message to the legislature, February
2, for further aid, and urged the appointment of a state-agent
for this purpose. General appropriation bills were introduced
in both houses. In the senate -bill, numbered 202, was con-
tained, among other items, an appropriation of $10,000 as a
governor's contingent fund, and one of $50,000 to be partly
disbursed in aid of sick and wounded soldiers. Another bill,
numbered 203, contained the same provisions as No. 202, ex-
cept these items. The democrats were in favor of bill 203 but
opposed to bill 202. On the last day of the session, Feb. 14,
these appropriation bills were called up in the house, together
* Illinois State Journal, February 26, 1863.
ADJOURNMENT OF THE LEGISLATURE. 6//
with a house-bill "to provide for certain expenses not otherwise
provided for by law," which was passed. Senate-bill number
203 was then taken up, as appears by the record,* and also passed.
The chief clerk, having been out of the chamber, returned when
the roll was being called, and was told that he must make
haste and report the passage of the bill to the senate as it was
about to adjourn. He sat down and wrote his report, and
immediately proceeded with it to the senate. But, as is alleged,
bill 202 was, in some unexplained or unknown way, substituted
for 203, and having been reported bythe clerk as passed, was
returned to the governor for his signature, and thus became a
law. It was certainly a shrewd piece of legislative legerde-
main, which no circumstances or public exigency could justify
or excuse. A protest of forty members was entered upon the
journal, in which it was stated that the bill which really passed
was numbered 203, which had been twice read at length in the
house and did not contain either of the obnoxious appropria-
tions. The state treasurer having refused to pay out any
money on this appropriation, the question of the validity of
the act was brought before the supreme court, which decided
that it had not been legally passed, and was, therefore, null
and void.
When the legislature adjourned on February 14, for the
June recess, it was found that no laws of any public import-
ance had been passed, and that, by reason of a providential
interference in the senate, all proposed political measures, even,
such as the congressional apportionment and the armistice-
resolutions, had also failed. The proposed law to allow the
soldiers to vote was defeated, and nearly all the war measures
passed by the legislature of 1861, including "an act to prepare
the State of Illinois to protect its own territory against inva-
sion, and render efficient and prompt assistance to the United
States if demanded," were repealed.
The passage of the peace-resolutions in the house was as
much a surprise to the people of the State generally, as they
were uncalled for. The members had been elected on no issue
calling for any such pronounced opinions; no considerable
portion of their constituents had demanded any expression
* House Journal, 637.
678 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
of sentiment whatever on that subject. It was a rare spectacle,
the legislative machinery of the State falling unexpectedly into
the hands of representatives, mostly young and inexperienced
in public affairs, who, in a period of profound national solicitude,
permitted the supposed exigencies of party success to have
higher claims upon their action than the needs of their country
when in the throes of an armed revolution. The object was so
to manufacture public opinion as to place the administrations
of Lincoln and Yates in the wrong before the people, and thus
secure control of public affairs in the State and Nation. And
while they antagonized all war measures they were careful to
eulogize the soldiers in the field, and sought to persuade them
that they were their truest friends.
The proposed armistice, with its correlative national conven-
tion, was palpably impracticable. Its suggestion contemplated
a change of mind on the part of the president and congress,
and in the executives of the states, of which they had given
no evidence, and a departure from a policy of whose wisdom
they were fully convinced. Nearly every northern governor
had pronounced in favor of emancipation, and although the
opposition thereto had been more pronounced than the presi-
dent had anticipated, time had served only to deepen and
strengthen his conviction of the wisdom and necessity of such
a policy.
Assuming, however, that the peace-measures of the twenty-
third general assembly had been the outgrowth of a well-de-
fined and clearly - expressed public opinion and had been
entirely practicable, does any one believe that in the then condi-
tion of affairs, with Vicksburg still in the hands of the seces--
sionists and Gettysburg not yet fought, any peace could have
been concluded other than on such terms as the South might
have seen fit to dictate? What these would have been can
only be inferred from the unbending attitude of her leading
men. We know certainly that they would not have abandoned
their "peculiar institution" of slavery, and would have proba-
bly insisted upon other conditions, such as a guarantee of the
right of secession, as destructive to the Union as they would
have been disgraceful and humiliating to the North. Indeed,
as indicating the trend of public sentiment in the South at
THE ARMISTICE-RESOLUTIONS IMPRACTICABLE. 6/9
this time in view of the supposed growth of public sentiment
in the North in favor of peace, it may be called to mind that
Henry S. Foote of Mississippi introduced a series of resolu-
tions in the confederate congress in January, 1863, in which,
while a willingness was professed to make peace with one or
more northern states, it was expressly declared that the gov-
ernment at Richmond would form no commercial treaty with
the New-England States "with whose people, and in whose
ignoble love of gold and brutifying fanaticism, this disgraceful
war has mainly originated."
Moreover, as the war progressed, the people of either sec-
tion had become but the more firmly convinced of the right-
eousness of their own cause and of the possibility of ulti-
mate success. Victory had encouraged confidence and defeat
had strengthened determination. To have suspended hos-
tilities during the pendency of peace-negotiations at this junc-
ture, could have had practically but one result Both sides
would have secured a "breathing spell," always most advan-
tageous to the weaker contestant; and an opportunity would
have been afforded each to strengthen its armies in the field,
thus indefinitely prolonging the struggle beyond the period of
its actual duration, at an added cost of blood and treasure, the
amount of which it would be hard to estimate. Nor is it un-
likely that the proposing or granting an armistice by the North
would have been construed by foreign governments as an admis-
sion of wavering purpose, if not of actual weakness, which
might easily have been made the pretext, not unhoped for, for a
recognition of the confederacy, thus furnishing moral and
material aid to the rebellion, the value of which can not be
computed.
As a matter of fact, it is more than doubtful whether the
originators of the armistice - convention scheme themselves
believed that there was the slightest probability of its being
adopted. Their aim was to antagonize what was in many
respects an unpopular policy, with one to which they might
afterward point, in event of the failure of the government in
the conduct of the war, and claim that, had it been followed,
other and more favorable results would have been achieved.
The effect of the passage of the pacification resolutions upon
680 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
the people of the State and the soldiers in the field became
apparent before the legislature adjourned, and was still more
palpable thereafter. Meetings were held in various portions of
the State in which men of all classes united in denouncing the
action of the legislature in strong terms. As a specimen of the
resolutions adopted, the following by the Douglas Club at
Vienna, may be given: "Resolved, that as citizens of Illinois and
as democrats, we are in favor of the continued and vigorous
prosecution of the war until the supremacy of the constitution
is acknowledged in every state in the Union. That we are in
favor of the administration using every constitutional means
for the purpose of crushing the rebellion and restoring the
Union. That the errors of the administration, while they
should not be adopted by the people, form no excuse for any
loyal citizen to withhold his support from the government.
We are inflexibly opposed to the secession heresy of a north-
western confederacy, and will resist it with our lives, our fort-
unes, and our sacred honor."
At a Union meeting at Alton, February 13, resolutions of a
more radical tendency were adopted, as follows: "That we
approve the president's proclamation, and will maintain it
against its northern defamers, who predict failure because the
wish is father to the thought. That the efforts made by the
heretofore disguised but now open enemies of the country, to
call a convention at Louisville, Ky., for rebels north to treat
with rebels south, be spurned by all honest men, as those of
the vilest and most treasonable enemy."
The response from the army was still more emphatic. Illinois
regiments, wherever situated, were called together, and with
singular unanimity expressed themselves, either through their
officers, or by the combined action of officers and men; in some
instances polls were opened, the better to permit the men to ex-
press their feelings, and the papers of the State were flooded with
their resolutions. A quotation from some of these will indicate
to the reader in what estimation these peace efforts were held
by the boys in blue. "Resolved, that the Sixty-second Illinois
infantry will follow the flag that waved over the battles of our
fathers, wherever it may go, whether it be in the many fields of
the South, or against the miscreants, vile and perjured abettors
RESPONSES FROM THE ARMY. 68 1
of the North; and for the honor of that banner we pledge our
lives, our property, and our sacred honor."
"Resolved, that we view with abhorrence the conduct of those
holding office in our county and district, who, by their speeches,
writings, votes, and influence, are endeavoring to force a de-
grading peace policy upon the government, and that we see
nothing in the present situation of affairs to indicate the neces-
sity of an armistice, and that we regard the proposition to
enter into such an arrangement as in the highest degree treach-
erous, dishonorable, and cowardly."*
Gen. John A. Logan, in an address to the i/th army corps
in February, 1863, alluded thus pointedly to the "falsification
of public sentiment at home: "I am aware that influence of
the most treasonable and discouraging character, well calculated
and designed to render you dissatisfied, have recently been
brought to bear upon some of you by professed friends. News-
papers containing treasonable articles, artfully falsifying public
sentiment at your homes, have been circulated in your camps.
Intriguing political tricksters, demagogues, and time-servers,
whose corrupt deeds are but a faint reflex of their corrupt
hearts, seem determined to drive our people on to anarchy and
destruction. They have hoped, by magnifying the reverses of
our army, basely misrepresenting the conduct of our soldiers in
the field, and boldly denouncing the acts of the constituted
authorities of the government as unconstitutional usurpation,
to produce general demoralization in the army, and thereby
reap their reward, weaken the cause we have espoused, and aid
those arch -traitors of the South to dismember our mighty
republic and trail in the dust the emblem of our national unity,
greatness and glory." Letters equally condemnatory of the
armistice-convention policy were written by Gens. McClernand,
Haynie, Brayman, Carlin, and many other democratic officers
from Illinois.
Here and there a disappointed soldier would write home
commending the action of the legislature, but the sentiment of
line-tenths of the volunteers from Illinois was identical with
that expressed in the foregoing resolutions.
The general assembly came together again, in accordance
* Resolutions Company D, i6th Illinois Infantry.
44
682 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
with the resolution of adjournment, on June 2, and while that
body had no peace commissioners to hear from, as had been
expected when the recess-resolution was adopted, the anti-war
majority found themselves confronted by a public opinion,
voiced by their constituents and by the men at the front, which
was anything but complimentary to their political prescience in
supporting the peace-resolutions. The latter's passage was not
again urged in the senate, but a milder form of expression of
opposition to the war and dissent from the administration was
found in the introduction of resolutions denouncing the sup-
pression, by Gen. Burnside of the Chicago Times, as "a direct
violation of the constitution of the United States and of this
State, and destructive of those God -given principles whose
existence and recognition, for centuries before written constitu-
tions were, have made them as much a part of our rights as the
air we breathe or the life which sustains us."
Resolutions were also passed tendering the thanks of the
people of the State "to all the gallant sons of Illinois, who, by
their indomitable bravery and noble daring [at Vicksburg],
have inscribed the name of Illinois high upon the roll of fame."
Bills were introduced into both houses, on the first day of
the session, appropriating $100,000 for the relief of sick and
wounded soldiers, to be distributed by commissioners designated
John T. Stuart, Charles H. Lanphier, and Wm. A. Turney
all well-known and respected citizens but opposed to the war
measures of the administration. A difference of opinion at
once arose between the two houses in regard to the composi-
tion of the commission.
In the meantime, it had come to be the decided opinion of
the governor and the other state-officers that the State and
country would receive a greater benefit from the adjournment
of this legislature than from the passage of any measure in
favor of the soldiers or of the prosecution of the war which
might be extorted from their reluctant action. Accordingly,
on June 4, Senator Bushnell introduced a resolution to adjourn
sine die on June 10, the consideration of which was postponed
until the 8th. On that day the resolution was taken up and on
motion of Mr. Vandeveer was amended by inserting in place
of the loth, "six o'clock this day," which motion prevailed by a
PROROGATION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 683
vote of 14 to 7. The resolution was sent to the house and
there amended by inserting June 22, as the day for final ad-
journment, and being returned to the senate that body refused
to concur in the amendment by a vote of 12 to II. There
followed an ominous pause. The house adjourned over to the
loth. The senate met as usual the next day but transacted
little business. There was a marked feeling of uneasiness and
a latent suspicion that something was going to happen, although
no one could tell what. Rumors of threatened executive inter-
ference filled the air. The democratic members of the house
went into caucus to consider the situation.
The morning of the loth came, and republicans and demo-
crats alike were in their seats in the house at nine o'clock.
The democrats were grouped in little knots with anxious faces,
discussing in low tones the grave conjuncture of circumstances
by which they were confronted; while the few republicans
present only sixteen were serious and watchful.
A conference committee was appointed to meet with a like
committee from the senate on the bill for the relief of Illinois
soldiers.
Mr. Lawrence of Boone moved to dispense with the regular
order and take up the bill providing for the ordinary and con-
tingent expenses of the state government, which, on motion of
Mr. Fuller of Cook, was laid on the table. There was appar-
ently no immediate prospect of the passage of this or the relief
bill. At noon, the governor's private secretary was announced
by the door-keeper, and without recognition from the chair
occupied temporarily by Mr. Burr proceeded to read, some-
what hurriedly, but in a clear, loud voice, a proclamation from
the governor* adjourning the twenty-third general assembly to
* Message To the General Assembly oj the State of Illinois: Whereas on the 8th
day of June, 1863, the senate adopted a joint-resolution to adjourn sine die, on said
day at 6 o'clock, p.m., which resolution, on being submitted to the house of repre-
sentatives, was by them amended, by substituting the 22nd day of June, at 12 o'clock,
in which amendment the senate thereupon refused to concur; and whereas the consti-
tution of this State contains the following provision, to wit:
" Sec. 13, Art. 4. In case of a disagreement between the two houses with respect
to the time of adjournment, the governor shall have power to adjourn the general
assembly to such time as he thinks proper, provided it be not to a period beyond the
next constitutional meeting of the same. "
And whereas I believe that the interests of the people of the State will be best
684 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
the Saturday next preceeding the first Monday in January, 1865.
Before the opposition, looking up from their desks and papers,
fairly comprehended what had occurred, they found themselves
functus officio.
The utmost confusion followed. The republican members at
once retired. An informal recess was taken, but upon calling
the roll subsequently 47 members failed to respond to their
names.
In the senate, Lieut.-Gov. Hoffman read the governor's mes-
sage proroguing the general assembly, and immediately there-
after declared the senate adjourned and left the chamber. Mr.
Underwood was called to the chair, but only eight senators
answered to their names. The governor's fiat had been as
effectually executed as was Cromwell's order dissolving the
long parliament, two hundred years before; and it was urged by
many of his friends that he would have been justified in adding
to the statement of his reasons for his action the well-known
address of the great protector on a like occasion, as follows:
"But now, I say, your time hath come. The Lord hath dis-
owned you. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob hath done
with you. He hath no need of you any more; so He hath
judged you and cast you forth, and chosen fitter instruments to
execute that work in which you have dishonored Him."
The majority at once took the ground that the action of the
governor was illegal, and after preparing a long protest, which
was entered upon the house-journal, although the governor's
message was not permitted so to appear, continued to meet for
several days. A joint -resolution was adopted inviting the
republicans to return and make a quorum and aid in passing
the soldiers'-relief bill, but to this invitation no attention was
paid. On June 24, the governor was waited upon by a joint-
subserved by a speedy adjournment, the past history of the assembly holding out no
reasonable hope of beneficial results to the citizens of the State, or any in the field,
from its further continuance;
Now, therefore, in consideration of the existing disagreement between the two
houses, with respect to the time of adjournment, and by virtue of the power vested
in me by the constitution as aforesaid, I, Richard Yates, governor of the State of
Illinois, do hereby adjourn the general assembly now in session, to the Saturday next
preceding the first Monday in January, A.D. 1865.
Given at Springfield, this loth day of June, A.D. 1863.
RICHARD YATES, Governor.
PEACE -ADVOCATES' FORTUNES. 685
committee, and asked if he had any further communications to
lay before the legislature, to which he replied that he did not
recognize their legal existence. Both houses then adjourned to
the Tuesday after the first Monday in January, 1864. But
before that time, the question having been raised in the supreme
court, the legality and validity of the governor's action in the
premises was fully sustained.
Although the course of the leaders of this general assembly
was at the time, and has since been, so severely criticised, they
did not after all misjudge the temper and feelings of their local
constituencies, nor were they altogether mistaken in their esti-
mate of the political changes which the "whirligig of time"
might bring about in their favor. Albert G. Burr was there-
after twice elected to congress and twice to a seat on the circuit-
court bench. Scott Wike was returned as a member of the
twenty- fourth general assembly, was elected to congress in 1874,
and is now (1889) a member of that body. James M. Epler
represented his district in the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh
senates. Simeon P. Shope was twice elected judge of his cir-
cuit and is now one of the justices of the supreme court. Mel-
ville W. Fuller, after twenty years of official inactivity, other
than that involved in attendance as a delegate upon democratic
national conventions, now occupies the seat once filled by John
Marshall, as chief-justice of the supreme court of the United
States.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
State of Parties The Northwestern Conspiracy Threat-
ened -Attacks upon Camp Douglas and Chicago
The Political Campaigns of 1864 Party Platforms-
Results Progress of the War Internal Progress-
State -Debt.
T)OLITICAL parties had been affected by the events of the
JL war and the action of the legislature to such an extent
that their lines had been materially readjusted. Neither did all
the republicans heartily support the administration of Lincoln,
nor were all the democrats opposed to it. While the former
were unitedly in favor of the war, a respectable minority were
of opinion that the failure to bring it to a successful termi-
nation had been owing to mismanagement, in not selecting
the best means, men, and measures.
The war-democrats, who supported the administration, were
but few in number but strong in influence. The great body
of the party was composed of those who adhered to its organ-
ization principally for the purpose of accomplishing political
results. While they negatively disapproved of the methods and
measures of the administration, they were opposed to the
doctrine of secession and the attempt to sever the Union by
the sword. They were in favor of sustaining the soldiers in
the field, of suppressing the rebellion, and of restoring the
Union as it was. They would neither encourage desertions
nor countenance resistance to the draft. Their friends and
relatives formed a part of the Union army, whose defeat would
not only prolong the struggle but at the same time increase
the chances of dismembering the Union, a result which they
would have heartily deplored.
But the democratic party embraced also another element,
which sympathized with the Southern States in their efforts
to establish a separate government. This faction not only
opposed the policy of emancipation, but would rather have seen
the success of the South than the restoration of the Union
686
STATE OF PARTIES.
without slavery. In the event of the triumph of the secession-
ists, they would have preferred a still farther division of the
Union and the separate organization of the Northwestern
States, rather than remain in a federation which included New
England. This element, during the first year of the war, con-
tented itself with passive opposition to the government, but
as time wore on, it became more outspoken and even demon-
strative in its efforts until finally, as will be seen, it took a bold
and resolute stand against the war and in favor of compromise
and peace. It was stronger in the personnel of its influential
leaders than at the polls, and succeeded in drawing to its quasi-
support many of those who were not at heart in sympathy
with the extreme views of its master spirits.
The leaders of the democratic party in this State, with the
exception of a few in the northern portion, had been born and
raised in the slave-states and had a strong bias in favor of the
"peculiar institution," and a detestation of abolitionists still
stronger; and it must be admitted that nine-tenths of these
leaders, who remained at home from the war and to whom
the rank and file of the party looked for advice and guidance,
were at this time endeavoring to shape the policy of their
party in favor of peace at almost any price.
Before the final dispersion of the legislature, and while the
opposition members were endeavoring to prolong its question-
able existence, there was held at Springfield, June 17, 1863, in
pursuance of a call issued by the democratic state central com-
mittee, a mass convention of those opposed to the administra-
tion, which in numbers estimated at 40,000, respectability,
enthusiasm, and unanimity of views and purpose, was perhaps
the most remarkable gathering of its kind ever held in the
State. Senator William A. Richardson presided, supported
by the following vice-presidents: Charles A. Constable, Peter
Sweat, Aaron Shaw, Orlando B. Ficklin, William F. Thornton,
J. W. Merritt, H. M. Vandeveer, B. F. Prettyman, Charles D.
Hodges, Virgil Hickox, James E. Ewing, Edmund Dick Tay-
lor, J. P. Rogers, David A. Gage, John Cunningham, Benjamin
S. Edwards, S. S.Taylor, C. L. Higbee, R.T.. Merrick, Samuel
S. Hayes, Cyrus Epler, John D. Wood, Saml. A. Buckmaster,
J. M. Epler, W. A. J. Sparks, James L. D. Morrison, James C.
688 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Robinson, Francis C. Sherman, C. A. Walker, Dr. N. S Davis,
and others. The principal speakers were Messrs. Richardson,
S. S. Marshall, J. R. Eden, J. C. Allen, J. C. Robinson, T. E.
Merritt, W. M. Springer, and ex-Gov. John Reynolds from this
State, D. W. Voorhees from Indiana, and S. S. Cox from Ohio.
The resolutions adopted declared in favor of the supremacy
of the constitution of the United States in times of war as
well as in peace; they arraigned the administration for violat-
ing the bill of rights; condemned the arrest and banishment
of C. L. Vallandigham, demanding his restoration; denounced
the arrest of Judge Constable and W. H. Carlin; condemned
the suppression of the Chicago Times; favored the freedom of
elections; affirmed the doctrine of state sovereignty; opposed
martial law; and stigmatized the late proroguing of the legis-
lature by Gov. Yates as an act of usurpation.
The twenty- third resolution was as follows: "Resolved, that
the further offensive prosecution of this war tends to subvert
the constitution and the government, and entail upon this
Nation all the disastrous consequences of misrule and anarchy.
That we are in favor of peace upon the basis of a restoration
of the Union, and for the accomplishment of which we propose
a national convention to settle upon terms of peace, which
shall have in view the restoration of the Union as it was, and
the securing, by constitutional amendments, such rights to the
several states and the people thereof as honor and justice
demand."
The twenty-fourth resolution denied that the democratic
party was wanting in sympathy for the soldiers in the field,
and earnestly requested "the president of the United States
to withdraw the proclamation of emancipation, and permit
the brave sons of Illinois to fight only for the "Union, the
constitution, and the enforcement of the laws."
As an evidence of the sincerity of their declarations in favor
of the soldiers, they raised at the meeting, by subscription and
pledges, $47,000 to be used in aid of the sick and wounded
Illinois volunteers, Col. W. R. Morrison being appointed to
superintend its distribution.
On September 3, a Union mass meeting was held in Spring-
field, attended by an immense concourse of people from all
PEACE AND UNION MASS -MEETINGS. 689
portions of the State and representing all shades of political
opinion opposed to a peace-policy. Speeches were made from
five different stands by Gov. Henry S. Lane of Indiana, Judge
J. R. Doolittle of Wisconsin, Senator Zachary Chandler of Mich-
igan, and Gov. Yates, Gens. John A. McClernand, Haynie, and
Prentiss, and many others from this State. The letter from
President Lincoln to Hon. James C. Conkling, defending the
emancipation proclamation, which has since been so often re-
ferred to, was first made public at this meeting. This assem-
blage was regarded as a highly successful demonstration, full of
encouragement to the soldiers and the cause of the Union.
There was no general election in 1863, but the returns for
county and township officers showed heavy Union gains
throughout the State.
All through the Northwest, however, there existed, during
the entire period of the war, an element of considerable nu-
merical strength, which, while openly avowing only its anxiety
for peace, was in fact disloyal in sentiment and reactionary in
its aims. In order the more sedulously to foster this sentiment
and more effectually to accomplish purposes which they did
not dare to confide to the public at large, the leaders perceived
the necessity for organization. Accordingly, secret societies,
variously known as Circles of Honor and Mutual Protection
Societies, were formed in those states where this treasonable
element existed in any strength, and notably in Kentucky,
Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Actuated by a common
purpose, these separate associations soon amalgamated into one
general organization known as the Knights of the Golden
Circle, whose objects were political rather than military. This
order formed a rallying point for many of the disaffected and
for all southern sympathizers, but it had no active policy
beyond discouraging enlistments and influencing elections.
As compared with the quasi-secret but unwaveringly loyal
organization the Union League which it opposed, it was
insignificant in respect of both number? and influence.
Owing to the partial exposure of its secrets, it ceased to
exist, being succeeded, in the summer of 1863, by the Order
of American Knights, whose purposes were somewhat more
aggressive; and after the latter's methods were revealed, still
690 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
another reorganization was found necessary, and the Knights of
the Order of the Sons of Liberty became the residuary legatee
of its amended ritual and took up the prosecution of its nefari-
ous designs.
This new order came into existence in Indiana and soon
spread over the Northwest. Its organization was more perfect,
its scope broader, its attitude more defiant, and its methods
bolder than those of any of its predecessors. The sovereign
power of the body was vested in a supreme council, whose
officers were a supreme commander, secretary of state, and
treasurer. Each state had its deputy grand commander, sec-
retary, and treasurer, and each military district its major-
general. County lodges were known as temples.
The most significant feature of this order was its pseudo-
military character, which was relied upon to give it its greatest
strength. It was virtually an organized, officered army. The
supreme commander was commander- in -chief, while each
deputy grand commander was at the head of all divisions in
his own state. Subordinate to these were major- and brigadier-
generals, colonels, and captains. In Illinois, the members in
each congressional district constituted a brigade, and those in
a county, if sufficiently numerous, formed a regiment
The ritual provided for three degrees the temple, grand
and supreme councils; and the candidate for promotion was
required at each step to furnish additional proof of trust-
worthiness before assuming graver responsibilities and being
entrusted with more important secrets. Initiation into each
of the higher degrees involved the taking of a new oath, each
more solemn in its terms and more stringent in its penalties
than the one which preceded it; and the obligations thus taken
were to be held paramount, surpassing in binding force any
oath administered by a court of justice and of higher sanctity
than the oath of allegiance itself.
The fundamental doctrines of the order, as laid down in its
constitution, may be thus summarized: that human slavery
should be maintained; that the Union is a mere compact and
that the federal government has no right to attempt to coerce
a sovereign state; that any attempt on the part of the United
States to exercise powers not delegated is a usurpation and
SONS OF LIBERTY. 691
should be resisted as such; that a refusal or failure of the
national executive to administer the government in accordance
with the letter of the constitution renders it the solemn duty
of the people to exercise their inherent right of an appeal to
arms.
To the support of these principles the "knights" were sworn,
promising that "our swords shall be unsheathed whenever the
great principles which we aim to inculcate and have sworn to
maintain and defend are assailed;" and "that I will at all
times, if needs be, take up arms in the cause of the oppressed,
in my own country first of all, against any power or govern-
ment usurped, which may be found in arms and waging war
against a people or peoples who are endeavoring to establish,
or have inaugurated a government for themselves of their own
free choice." They also promised, "in furtherance of this design,
at all times to implicitly obey, without remonstrance or ques-
tion, all rightful commands of the constituted authority of the
order."
It will be observed that the declaration of principles out-
lined above does not in specific terms avow the intention to
give aid and comfort to the seceded states; but the conduct
of the members of the order clearly showed that it was their
purpose to accomplish this result by what might be called
indirect means. The methods chosen may be grouped under
five distinct heads: I. Discouraging enlistments and resisting
any proposed draft. 2. Conniving at desertions and protect-
ing deserters. 3. Circulating disloyal and treasonable publica-
tions. 4. Communicating and acting in concert with the enemy
in the destruction of government property. 5. Cooperating
with the enemy in raids, invasions, and the freeing of rebel
prisoners of war.
At the head of the order, through all its shifting phases,
was Clement L. Vallandigham, who, after his banishment from
the Union lines in 1863, visited Richmond, where he held
repeated conferences with Jefferson Davis and other high
officers of the rebel government. A comparison of the word-
ing of the declaration of principles of the Sons of Liberty
and the language employed by Davis, not only in his messages
but also, and more particularly, in his "Rise and Fall of the
692 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Confederate Government," can not fail to disclose a similarity
of expression which sometimes approaches identity, forcing
upon the mind of the reader the conviction that the source
and inspiration of both were the same.
It is but just to say, that the membership of the society
included thousands who were ignorant of the real ulterior pur-
poses of the leaders, being induced to connect themselves with
it through the endorsement of the order by so many represen-
tative party-leaders. Among the rank and file were many
who, while honestly opposed to the further prosecution of the
war, were willing to affiliate themselves with a secret organiza-
tion for the accomplishment of political ends, but would have
discountenanced overt, armed hostility to the government. And,
as a matter of fact, political results were the only ones achieved,
the attainment of military success being found impossible by
the leaders of the order since "it could not be handled like an
army."
According to Vallandigham, the numerical strength of this
organization, in 1864, was 300,000, of which 85,000 were in
Illinois, 50,000 in Indiana, and 110,000 in Ohio.
The first arrest made in Illinois was in March, 1863, when
Judge C. H. Constable was taken into custody while holding
court in Coles County, because of his release of four deserters
and holding to bail for kidnapping the two Union officers who
arrested them. He was subsequently discharged after a hear-
ing before United-States District-Judge Samuel H. Treat. The
work of the Sons of Liberty now became apparent. Other
arrests at Springfield followed of persons alleged to be in
sympathy with the rebellion or in treasonable correspondence
with its agents. Forcible resistance was offered to Union
officers, secret camps formed, frequent assaults and even occa-
sional murders committed, and armed raids successfully ex-
ecuted in various counties, especially in those of Union,
Williamson, Richland, Clark, Coles, Fayette, Montgomery,
Green, Scott, Pike, Fulton, and Tazewell. Collisions between
the soldiers and citizens were of not infrequent occurence, the
most sanguinary being that at Charleston, March 22, when
four soldiers and three citizens were killed outright and eight
wounded. Raids were made upon Jacksonville, Winchester,
REBEL CO-OPERATION WITH THE SONS OF LIBERTY. 693
Manchester, Greenville, and Vandalia, while incursions from
rebel bushwhackers under the protection of the Sons of
Liberty were common in Calhoun, Scott, Pike, Hancock, and
Adams counties.
A company of United-States troops sent into Scott and
Greene counties did good service in preventing other and more
formidable raids, and aided in breaking up camps and dispers-
ing the would-be raiders.
In the spring of 1864, such had been the progress made by
the peace-party in the Northwest that Jefferson Davis con-
cluded that the time had come to avail himself of the cooper-
ation which the organization of the Sons of Liberty might
afford. "The aspect of the peace-party," he says, *"was quite
encouraging." A commission composed of Jacob Thompson,
C. C. Clay, and J. P. Holcombe was appointed to meet in
Canada to negotiate for peace and to make judicious use of
any political opportunity that might be presented. The com-
mission had repeated interviews at Windsor, Canada, with
Vallandigham, and other "Sons" from Illinois and Indiana, as
the result of which Thompson, in his letter of August,
1864, to Mason and Slidell, says, that he was directed "to
utilize the prejudices existing against the conduct of the war,
for the advancement of the interests of the confederate states."
Through the active cooperation of the Sons of Liberty in
Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, he proposed "to take possession of
the present organized governments of these three states and
organize provisional governments for the purpose of establish-
ing a Northwestern confederacy." He remarked farther: "In
order to arouse the people, political meetings, called 'peace-
meetings,' have been held and inflammatory addresses delivered,
and whenever orators have expressed themselves for peace with
a restoration of the Union, and if that can not be, then for
peace on any terms, the cheers and clamor of the masses have
known no bounds." This program was fully carried out, so
far as the leaders were concerned, at Peoria and Springfield,
where speeches advocating peace and compromise were made
to enthusiastic crowds.
In order to conduct the military operations which formed
*" Rise and Fall, "II, 611.
694 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
a part of the scheme, in connection with the peace-efforts of
the commissioners, Capt. T. Henry Hines, Confederate States
of America, formerly of Morgan's command, was, in March,
1864, directed to proceed to Canada through the United
States, conferring with any who were advocates of peace;
and was further authorized to employ such soldiers as he
might collect in "effecting any fair and appropriate enter-
prise of war," by which was particularly meant the release of
the rebel prisoners at Chicago, Rock Island, and other points.
He was to report to Commissioner Thompson, in the further-
ance of whose plans he was to cooperate. After viewing the
situation, it was agreed that the Sons of Liberty were to be
encouraged to an armed resistance of the draft in July. To
this end, Thompson offered material aid in the form of money
and arms. Vallandigham returned to Ohio in June and under
his leadership, July 20 was fixed upon as the date for an armed
uprising against the general government The want of a
thorough understanding, which prevented concert of action,
and more especially the lack of military discipline, compelled
the postponement of the time for action to the month of August.
Both Thompson and Hines labored intelligently and inde-
fatigably, each in the particular line assigned him. Thompson
devoted his energies chiefly to the "peace-party" and to mis-
sionary work among the "weak-kneed" members of the Sons
of Liberty, whose preference was for ballots rather than bullets
as the means for effecting political changes. His chief agencies
were the free circulation of incendiary rebel literature and a
lavish use of money, of which, both he and Hines had an abun-
dant supply. A considerable portion of the latter came from
New-York City, $30,000 being sent at one time. Candidates for
office received liberal pecuniary assistance upon the assurance
that if elected they would faithfully execute a prescribed policy.
It was not always deemed expedient to inform the recipient as
to the source from which the funds were derived. In such a
case, however, the candidate was required to bind himself by a
written stipulation to carry out the measures indicated.
A certain candidate for governor in one of the Western
States, in order to be assured of the necessary financial assis-
tance, was required to write a letter stating that, if he was
PROPOSED RELEASE OF REBEL PRISONERS. 695
elected, state sovereignty should be maintained in his state,
the laws regarding arrests enforced, even by calling out the
militia if necessary, and that in organizing the militia "he
would be happy to avail himself of the council and aid of the
executive committee of the peace-party of the state."* A
large sum of money, says Hines, was distributed in the West-
ern States in this way.
It is a fact worthy of note, in this connection, that it was
found necessary to distribute less literature throughout Illinois
than Missouri, the opposition press of this State furnishing
precisely the sort of material desired, and in abundant quan-
tities.
Capt. Hines met with considerable success. He conferred
with leading Southern sympathizers throughout the North-
west and for a time made Chicago his headquarters. He dis-
tributed money and himself superintended the purchase of
arms. His selection of agents, however, was not always for-
tunate, he having lost $5000 through a reverend gentleman
from Logan County, who reported that his funds had been
taken from him upon his arrest while en route to Cincinnati,
although he himself had contrived to escape!
The number and distribution of rebel prisoners of war in
Illinois in August during which month, it will be remembered,
the attempt to effect their release was to be made were: at
Chicago, 8000; Springfield, 7554; Rock Island, about 6000;
and Alton, about 5000.
One feature of the program was an attack on Chicago from
the lake, and Capt. John B. Castleman was associated with
Capt. Hines to carry out "an expedition against the United-
States prisons in the Northwestern States, and such other ser-
vice as you and he have verbally been instructed about."-f-
August 29, 1864, the day of the assembling of the national
democratic convention, was also the date finally determined
upon for the execution of the plot. The reason for the selec-
tion of this particular occasion was undoubtedly the fact that
in the numerous throng which always flocks to a national con-
vention, the presence of the large number of the Sons of
* T. H. Hines in "Southern Bivouac," II, 568.
t Thompson to Hines "Southern Bivouac," II, 209.
696 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Liberty, who were expected to come from other points to par-
ticipate in the attack, would not excite comment. The
prisoners at Camp Douglas, who were guarded by only 900
troops, were to be set at liberty by the combined effort of the
4000 knights in Chicago, the immense visiting contingent of
the order expected, and a horde of Canadian refugees.
With the ranks of the malcontents thus augmented by the
prisoners set at liberty at Chicago, an army would have been
placed at the command of the conspirators which, if some-
what motley as regarded its elements, would have certainly
been of no mean proportions; and the 15,000 to 20,000 men
thus gathered would have formed but the nucleus of a still
more formidable host, reinforced as it was to have been by
rebel prisoners released from the prison camps at Rock Island,
Springfield, and Alton, and by the more timorous "knights,"
whose flagging courage might be revived by such an imposing
demonstration. These accessions would, it was thought, swell
the numbers of the insurgent horde to 50,000, certainly a for-
midable body of men, when it is remembered that there was
no available force to oppose their march of devastation, the
effective soldiery of the State having gone to distant fields.
The confederates not all of whom, as Capt. Hines remarks,
were "mere adventurers" were on the ground, ready, even
eager, for action; neither arms, supplies, nor money were want-
ing; the time was auspicious. "Among the crowd," says the
same chronicler, "were many of the county officers of the
secret organization on whom we relied for assistance men
well known in their localities." "Every thing was arranged for
prompt action, and for the concentration and organization" of
the assembled "Sons" and rebel soldiers.
In the meantime, cautious and secret as were the conspira-
tors they had been unable to complete their arrangements
entirely in the dark. Their designs had been to some extent
discovered by the watchful eyes of loyal citizens and officers,
who had communicated their suspicions to Brig.-Gen. Benj. J.
Sweet in command of Camp Douglas. He immediately tele-
graphed for reinforcements, and a regiment of infantry and
a battery, numbering in all over 1200 men, were sent to his
assistance. The guards were increased and details of troops
posted at various points, as a precaution against surprise.
WHY THE PLOT FAILED. 697
No attack was made, and the failure of the plot is thus
accounted for by Capt. Hines: "* * It soon developed that
the men employed for gathering the members of the order
had not faithfully performed their duties, and that the prepar-
ation for immediate and open hostility to the administration
had destroyed the confidence or dissipated the courage of some
of the men whose leadership was necessary. This criticism,
however, can not be applied to all, for many of these North-
western men were men of nerve and pupose, who had con-
sidered well the whole subject, and were prepared to dare
anything with the hope of successfully resisting further
encroachment of the administration. From reports made at
this meeting, it did not appear that the notice to move county
organizations had been properly given, or that sufficient pre-
paration had been made, and it was evident that even the men
who had come to Chicago were not kept in hand so as to be
promptly available in organization. It was shown that such
counties as were represented had their forces scattered gener-
ally over the city, intermingled with a vast number of strangers.
Thus, while a large number of the order were present, they
were not present in controllable shape, and were therefore not
useful as a military body. * * The evening of August 29
came, but on the part of the timid, timidity became more
apparent, and those who were resolute could not show the
strength needed to give confident hope of success. The rein-
forcement sent by the administration to strengthen the Chi-
cago garrison had been vastly exaggerated, and seven thousand
men was the rumor brought to the ears of the Sons of Liberty.
Care had been taken to keep informed as to what troops came
to Camp Douglas, but the statement made by Hines and Cas-
tleman, to the effect that only 3000 were present, did not
counteract the effect produced by the rumor that the Federal
forces there numbered more than double that number."
"Inside the prison some organization had been effected.
Information had been conveyed to prudent prisoners that aid
from outside would come, and they were watchful for the attack
without as a signal for resistance within. The small force,
composed even of the Confederates present, could have
secured the release of the prisoners, because any assault from
45
698 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
the outside would have led to a simultaneous one on the part
of the prisoners, and the escape of most of them would have
been certain. Their control, however, was necessary for their
protection, and this could not be secured except by such a
force as would overwhelm the garrison and promptly organize
the prisoners. * * When, therefore, a count was taken of
the number of the Sons of Liberty on whom we could rely,
it seemed worse than folly to attempt to use them. There
was not enough to justify any movement which would commit
the Northwestern people to open resistance, and not even
enough to secure the release and control of the organization
of the prisoners at Camp Douglas as the nucleus of an army
which could give possible relief to the Confederacy."
The captain also found that the war-democrats exerted a
strong influence against his plans, and that the nomination of
Gen. McClellan had a demoralizing effect upon his copperhead
confreres. Still, nothing daunted, although the main object of
his expedition had to be abandoned, minor results, he thought,
ought to be accomplished. He therefore proposed to the
officers of the Sons of Liberty to furnish a detail of 500 men,
to be accompanied and controlled by their own officers, for the
purpose of liberating the prisoners at Rock Island, and taking
possession of both that city and Springfield. Castleman was
to have the principal command of the force, which was to take
possession of the Rock-Island train, and, cutting the telegraph
wires, reach the city and capture the garrison there, which
had been lately weakened to strengthen Chicago, and thus
complete an easy conquest. "But," says the captain in his
account of the conspiracy, "the responsibility of turning one's
back on home and business seemed to impress many of these
men as more serious than the risk of the draft and the danger
of further infringement on their personal liberties; and although
the promise 'we think we certainly can' was given, the resolute
assertion, 'we will have the men and be there ourselves,' was
withheld."
The plan was, after the release of the prisoners at Rock
Island, hastily to organize them and throw them down to
Springfield, and effect a like result there. But the disloyal
Sons of Liberty could not be depended upon. They had
FAILURE OF PROPOSED ATTACK ON ROCK ISLAND. 699
eagerly accepted Confederate gold, had vaunted of their prow-
ess, and had vaingloriously avowed their warlike purpose. But
when the critical moment arrived, the Southern leaders, who
had ventured under the very shadow of the gallows to lead
these invertebrate insurgents, discovered that they had trusted
to a rope of sand; too late they realized that faith can not
repose on dishonor, and that treason and treachery go hand in
hand. To inaugurate neighborhood raids, to rescue and hide
deserters, to interfere with the draft in their respective locali-
ties these were the limits of the valor of the "Sons of Liberty,"
beyond which they dared not venture. To attend peace-meet-
ings and shout themselves hoarse at each utterance of a
disloyal sentiment this they found an easy and congenial
task. But to risk their lives by openly facing men with arms
in their hands was another and vastly different matter, and one
which had never seriously entered into their calculations. Men
of this calibre found in the enthusiasm with which the anti-
war speeches at Chicago were received and in the peace-plat-
form there adopted by the national democratic convention, en-
couragement to hope that political success, both state and
national, might be secured by means fraught with less peril to
themselves. "All hope of success in this direction had to be
abandoned also," remarks the captain, "at least for the time
being," and the confederate schemers deemed it wise to depart
from the city.
The success of the Union armies, however, and the failure of
encouraging prospects at the polls had the effect of stimulating
the activity of the conspirators, who determined to organize
another attempt to liberate the prisoners at Camp Douglas,
on November 8, the day of the presidential election.
The same preliminary arrangements were made and the
same Confederate officers were on the ground, together with
the most reckless and determined Sons of Liberty. Interfer-
ence with the election, not only, but the burning and flooding
of the city were now included as a part of the infamous pro-
gram. Different parties were designated, some to set fires and
others to open plugs, attack banks, and levy arms. In the
meantime, every detail of their plans had become known.
Agents of the government had joined the secret order, had
700 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
been acting with them in all their lodges, and were thoroughly
informed of every movement. The utmost vigilance and pru-
dence, as well as activity, were exercised by Gen. Sweet, who
had now only a force of 796 men to guard 8352 prisoners.
Having matured his plans, on the evening of November 6, he,
with the provost-guard, made simultaneous descents upon the
hiding places of the leaders. Capt. Cantrill and Charles Tra-
verse were found together at the residence of "Brigadier-Gen-
eral" Charles Walsh, in whose house and barn were found 349
revolvers, 142 shotguns, and a large quantity of arms and
military stores. Col. St. Leger Grenfell, Vincent Marmaduke,
Col. J. T. Shanks were arrested at the Richmond House, and
Buckner S. Morris at his residence.
They were tried at Cincinnati for conspiracy for the release
of the prisoners at Camp Douglas, and for "laying waste to
and destroying" the city of Chicago. Walsh, R. T. Semmes,
and Charles T. Daniel were found guilty and sent to the peni-
tentiary. Col. W. R. Anderson committed suicide during the
trial. Marmaduke and Morris were acquitted. Col. Grenfell
was sentenced to be hung. After remaining in prison less than
a year the convicts were all pardoned, except Grenfell, whose
sentence was commuted to imprisonment for life.*
Taking up the thread of events in their regular order, the
year 1864 opened with a decidedly encouraging outlook for
the success of the Union cause. The battles in which the con-
* St. Leger Grenfell was a remarkable character. An English soldier of fortune, he
had served in the French army and with the Algerines against the French; he there
enlisted with the Turks against the pirates, tiring of which he joined his fortunes
with those of Garibaldi's South-American legion. He then, for a change, returned
home, procured a commission in the British army, and served throughout the Crimean
war, and afterward in India during the Sepoy rebellion. The civil war in the United
States brought him to this country, where he enlisted on the Confederate side, serv-
ing under Morgan. After a short time, he left the Confederacy and went to Wash-
ington, where he declared himself as a neutral, but finally became interested in the
scheme to release rebel prisoners, many of whom had been his old companions in
arms. This escapade ended his career. He was as reckless as he was daring, and
feared "neither God, man, nor the devil."
Authorities consulted in regard to the Conspiracy : " Report of Judge- Advocate
General Joseph Holt, " to Congress; "The Southern Bivouac, " numbers 52 to 55;
" Biographical Sketch of Gen. B. J. Sweet, " by Hon. Win. Bross; a collection of
pamphlets bound together, entitled "The Camp-Douglas Conspiracy," in the Chicago
Historical Society's library.
PROGRESS OF THE WAR. 70 1
tending armies had been engaged during the latter portion of
the year 1863 had resulted in the signal defeat of the insur-
gents, and in their being driven from important positions with
great losses. Vicksburg that southern Gibraltar had been
surrendered with 30,000 prisoners to the victorious Grant, who
had reenforced the beleagured army at Chattanooga and
hurled back the enemy from Missionary Ridge. Union troops
now held the fortresses of Tennessee, and the way was opened
for Sherman to Atlanta and the sea. Lee's invading hosts
had been routed and driven back from the glorious field of
Gettysburg, where he had lost the flower of his army.
To every call made by the government for troops, Illinois
had "promptly and patriotically responded" beyond the quota
required. Alone of all the states of the Union, prior to Feb.
I, 1864, she presented the proud record of having escaped a
draft.* By February i, forty-four of the seventy-one regiments
first organized had reenlisted as veterans, thus furnishing a
striking evidence of attachment to the service, a belief in the
righteousness of their cause, and unshaken confidence in the
commanders under whom they fought.
Between October i, 1863, and July i, 1864, the enlistments
in the State, including 16,186 reenlisted volunteers, amounted
to 37,092, making a total up to the latter date of 181,178
troops furnished by Illinois.^ This number, however, did not
include the 11,328 volunteers embraced in the thirteen regi-
ments of one hundred days' men, who were neither allowed
bounties nor credited against a draft. These regiments, ex-
cepting the I44th, which enlisted for one year, numbered
from 132 to 145 inclusive, and were raised at the suggestion of
Gov. Yates, in connection with Governors Morton, Brough, and
Stone, who raised a similar force in their respective states, to
serve in fortifications, thus releasing an equal number of
regular troops for more important duty in the field. The
order for their enlistment was issued from the adjutant-general's
office, April 26, 1864, and they were mustered into the United-
States service between May 31 and June 21 the camps of ren-
dezvous being at Chicago, Springfield, Ottawa, Mattoon, Cen-
tralia, Dixon, Joliet, Quincy, and Peoria; and departed for the
*Gov. Yates' in " Adjutant -Generals's Report," I, 44. t Ibid, I, 54.
702 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
field during the month of June. They performed "indispensable
and invaluable" services in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri.*
In the meantime, while Grant was hammering away at Lee's
army in Virginia and Sherman was crowding Johnson toward
Atlanta, the various political forces in the State were far from
being inactive. It was no less important that the army should
be sustained by public sentiment at home than that it should
win victories in the field; and so the war of ballots was as
fiercely contested as that of bullets. The newspapers of the
period published calls for political conventions and calls for
troops in the same columns. Reports of elections won or lost
were set forth with the same glaring head -lines as those of
battles, and there was a strange, if not incongruous, mingling
of rolls of delegates with lists of the killed and wounded.
The Union party, including the republicans which name
had been dropped and all others who were "unconditionally
in favo'r of maintaining the supremacy of the constitution of
the United States, of the full, final, and complete suppression
and overthrow of the existing rebellion," was first in the field
to call a convention, which was held at Springfield, May 25.
It was attended by a full set of delegates, with thousands of
visitors earnestly cooperating and advising. Adopting for
their catchword the famous sentence of Grant's report from
Spottsylvania, "We will fight it out on this line if it takes all
summer," they were confident, enthusiastic, and defiant.
-
* HUNDRED-DAY REGIMENTS:
NO. REGIMENT. COMMANDER. MUSTERED AT. STRENGTH.
132 Col. Thomas C. Pickett, Camp Fry, - 853
133 Col. Thaddeus Phillips, - Camp Butler, - 851
134 Col. Waters W. McChesney, Camp Fry, - 878
135 Col. John S. Wolfe, Mattoon, - - 852
136 Col. Frederick A. Johns, Centralia, 842
137 Col. John Wood, - - Quincy, - - 849
138 Col. John W. Goodwin, - Quincy, - - 835
139 Col. Peter Davidson, Peoria, - - 878
140 Col. Lorenzo H. Whitney, - Camp Butler, - 871
141 Col. Stephen Bronson, - Elgin, ... 842
142 Col. Rollin V. Ankney, - Camp Butler, - 851
143 Col. Dudley C. Smith, - Mattoon, - - 865
145 Col. George W. Lackey, - Camp Butler, - 880
Battalion, Capt. John Curtis, - - Camp Butler, - 91
Battalion, Capt. Simon J. Stookey, - Camp Butler, - 90
REPUBLICAN STATE CONVENTION, 1864. 703
Andrew J. Kuykendall, a war-democrat from "Egypt," was
called to preside. Burtcn C. Cook, chairman of the state cen-
tral committee, when the convention came together, announced
that Grant had driven Lee across the North Anna River with
severe loss, and that the rebels were retreating. This was
received with wild shouts and cheers of triumph.
Four names were presented for the office of governor that
of a gallant soldier, still suffering from wounds received in
battle; of the adjutant -general, who had been complimented
by Gov. Yates for the energy, efficiency, and ability with which
he had discharged the varied and complicated duties of his
office; of a patriotic, honest, and faithful state officer; and
of another gallant soldier still in the field. The first ballot
disclosed the following indications of choice: for Richard J.
Oglesby 283, Allen C. Fuller 220, Jesse K. Dubois 103, and
John M. Palmer 75. On the second ballot, the tide set in
toward Gen. Oglesby, who received 358 votes and the nomina-
tion, which was made unanimous.
Candidates for other state-officers carried off the honors as
follows: for lieutenant-governor, William Bross; secretary of
state, Sharon Tyndale; auditor, Orlin H. Miner; treasurer,
James H. Beveridge; superintendent of public instruction,
Newton Bateman. Samuel W. Moulton was nominated for
congressman at large.
The resolutions reported by the committee on platform, in
their endorsement of President Lincoln and the measures of his
administration, entirely failed to come up to the expectation
or meet the demands of the delegates and vast audience
present. A large and respectable faction of unionists in the
State had sympathized to a considerable extent with the oppo-
sition movement led by Secretary Chase and Gen. Fremont, and
they impressed their views upon the committee. Burton C.
Cook boldly and eloquently attacked the report. He aroused
such a feeling of loyalty and state pride that his motion to
refer the report to a new committee was adopted with an
overwhelming hurrah. The amended platform, which was
carried with shouts of approval, declared that the first and
most sacred duty of every citizen is to sustain the government
and preserve the Union; that the institution of human slavery
704 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
in our country was the cause of the rebellion and should be ex-
tirpated; that the Monroe doctrine should be the compass by
which to regulate our foreign policy; endorsed the administra-
tion of Gov. Yates; thanked our soldiers for their heroic ser-
vices; and in regard to Lincoln, instead of the half-hearted
promise of conditional support in case of his renomination,
which the original committee had drafted, the amended plat-
form contained this plank:
"Resolved, that we are proud of Abraham Lincoln, the
president of the United States; that we heartily endorse his
administration; that we honor him for the upright and faithful
manner in which he has administered the government in times
of peril and perplexity before unknown in the history of our
Nation; that we deem his reelection to be demanded by the
best interests of the country, and that our delegates to Balti-
more are hereby instructed to use all honorable means to
secure his renomination, and to vote as a unit on all questions
which may arise in that convention."
The Union national convention was held at Baltimore, June
7.* There was no opposition to the renomination of Lincoln
except from the Missouri delegation, which voted for Gen.
Grant. Andrew Johnson was nominated for vice-president.
The first democratic state convention of the year was held at
Springfield, June 15. It was presided over by Wm. A. Hacker;
R. E. Goodell and S. Corning Judd acting as secretaries.
Speeches were made by Amos Green, M. Y. Johnson, O. B.
Ficklin, and A. G. Burr. On motion of R. P. Tansey, it was
resolved, that inasmuch as the national democratic convention
was soon to assemble, it would be inexpedient for the state con-
vention to make any declaration of principles on that occasion.
No resolutions touching the peace-question were introduced,
but one, pledging the democratic party to stand by Vallandig-
* The delegates from Illinois were : at large, Burton C. Cook, Leonard Swett,
Dr. J. A. Powell, Augustus H. Burley, Henry Dummer, John Huegly; 1st district,
J. Young Scamrnon, Lorenzo Brentano; 2nd, George Bangs, E. P. Ferry; 3d, J.
Wilson Shaffer, James McCoy; 4th, Harrison Dills, Solon Burroughs; 5th, Henry
F. Royce, Clark E. Carr; 6th, Joseph L. Braden, Washington Bushnell; 7th, Geo.
W. Rives, Dr. James Cone; 8th, R. K. Fell, James Brown; gth, Wm. A. Grim-
shaw, W. B. Green; loth, Isaac L. Morrison, J. T. Alexander; nth, William H.
Robinson, Dr. T. H. Sams; I2th, John Thomas, Wm. Copp; I3th, F. S. Rhodes,
Morris P. Brown.
DEMOCRATIC MASS-MEETING AT PEORIA. 705
ham, was adopted amid a perfect whirlwind of huzzas and
swinging of hats, and three cheers were given for the return
of the idolized martyr from banishment. Delegates to the
national convention and presidential electors were appointed,*
but no ticket nominated.
The proceedings at this convention were far from being
satisfactory to the peace-wing of the democratic party. Its
leaders had taken such strong and open ground in favor of peace
at almost any price, that in their opinion to show the least sign
of receding from their position would be construed as a "change
of heart" which none of them had experienced. They had gone
too far and had received too much encouragement to abandon
their views or abate, in the slightest degree, their advocacy of
the peace-policy. Accordingly, in pursuance of a call signed
by J, W. Singleton, Amos Green, A. D. Duff, S. C. Judd, M. Y.
Johnson, Dr. T. M. Hope, H. K. S. Omelveny, R. W. Davis,
Wm. M. Springer, and others, a "democratic" mass meeting
was held at Peoria, August 3, over which Gen. Singleton pre-
sided. A large crowd attended, but none of the speakers from
abroad, who had been advertised, were present. The general
temper of the meeting was the same in character as that of the
previous year at Springfield, but intensified in degree. Resolu-
tions were adopted declaring against coercion and the subjuga-
tion of sovereign states; that war, as a means of restoring the
Union, had proved a failure and a delusion, and "(3) that the
repeal and revocation of all unconstitutional edicts and pre-
tended laws, an armistice, and a national convention, for the
peaceful adjustment of our troubles, are the only means of
saving our Nation from unlimited calamity and ruin."
For the purpose of counteracting the effect of the extreme
views promulgated at Peoria, reconciling the antagonisms in the
party, and especially of endorsing in advance the nominee of
* The names of the delegates were as follows : at large, John M. Douglas, John
Dean Caton, S. S. Marshall, O. B. Ficklin, Peter Sweat, Samuel A. Buckmaster;
1st district, Melville W. Fuller, Bernard G. Caulfield; 2nd, Augustus M. Herring-
ton, J. S. Ticknor; 3d, David Shaw, J. B. Smith; 4th, Thomas Redmon, Azro
Patterson; 5th, Wm. W. O'Brien, Justus Stevens; 6th, R. W. Murrey, Lewis
Stewart, yth, Joseph Bodman, Henry Prather; 8th, Dr. Thomas P. Rogers, Virgil
Hickox; gth, H. L. Bryant, W. R. Archer; loth, John T. Springer, Robert W.
Davis; nth, J. H. Turney, John Schofield; I2th, Amos Watts, R. P. Tanseyj
I3th, Wm. H. Green, John D. Richardson.
706 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
the democratic national convention, another mass meeting of
the democracy was called to meet at Springfield, August 18.
This was a larger gathering than that at Peoria. Two stands
were erected, at one of which Gen. Singleton presided, claiming
that this was a continuation of the Peoria meeting.
After speeches by Henry Clay Dean of Iowa, Wm. Corry of
Ohio, Wm. J. Allen, Wm. M. Springer, C. L. Highbee, H. M.
Vandeveer, and others, the Peoria resolutions, with some modi-
fications, and those of June 17, 1863, were presented at stand
number one and declared by the chair adopted.
A resolution prepared by a preliminary caucus, pledging the
support of the democratic party of Illinois to the Chicago
nominee for president, whoever he might be, after a sharp debate
was laid upon the table. The same proceedings were had at
stand number two, but not with the same results. The same
peace resolutions were adopted as at the first stand, but
after an angry and tempestuous discussion the resolution in
favor of the unconditional support of the prospective nominee
of the Chicago convention was declared adopted. The same
resolution being again offered at stand number one, after an
exciting debate abounding in gross personalities, was finally
declared adopted amid great confusion, the president retiring
discomfited from the chair.
Inconsistent as was the action of this meeting, it foreshad-
owed the policy adopted at the democratic national convention,
which was to nomf.iate a Union officer, in the hope of securing
the support of the soldiers and war- democrats, upon a plat-
form designated to attract the votes of the pacification wing
of the party.
The democratic national convention was first called to meet
at Chicago on July 4, but was postponed to August 29. The
peace element was evidently in the ascendant and dictated the
platform, which was reported by a committee of which C. L.
Vallandigham was a member and leading spirit. Their views
on the absorbing question of the prosecution of the war were
expressed in the second resolution, as follows :
"Resolved, that this convention does explicitly declare, as
the sense of the American people, that after four years of fail-
ure to restore the Union by the experiment of war, during
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 707
which, under the pretence of a military necessity or power
higher than the constitution, the constitution itself has been
disregarded in every part, and public liberty and private rights
alike trodden down, and the material prosperity of the country
essentially impaired, justice, humanity, liberty, and the public
welfare demand that immediate efforts be made for the
cessation of hostilities, with a view to an ultimate convention
of all the states, or other peaceable means, to the end that, at
the earliest practicable moment, peace may be restored on the
basis of the federal union of the states."
The sentiments uttered by the principal speakers were all in
the line of this resolution and were vociferously applauded by
the enormous crowds of visitors, estimated at over 20,000.
"Peace was the watchword of every orator and the responses
of the immense crowd who listened proved that the predomi-
nant feeling in every heart was a desire for peace."* Lincoln
was ferociously assailed, as a tyrant and usurper, to reelect
whom would bring upon the country four years more of war,
disaster, and woe. It was declared that for less offences
than those of which he had been guilty "the English people
had chopped off the head of Charles the First;" and as be-
tween Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln the former was no
greater enemy to the constitution than the latter.-}- War-
democrats were denounced with equal severity. "There is/,'
said Trainor of Ohio, "no difference between a war-democrat
and an abolitionist. They are both links in the same sausage
made out of the same dog." It was with great difficulty that
some of the extremists could be brought to the support of the
nominee, who had been charged with having been the first to
recommend a draft and to make arbitrary arrests. The nomi-
nation of Gen. Geo. B. McClellan was indeed a bitter pill for them
to swallow and the assurance of their support was only secured
by the promise of permitting the candidate for vice-president
to be named by the advocates of peace. The choice with
great unanimity fell upon George H. Pendleton of Ohio.
That the temper and general drift of the convention was dis-
tasteful to Gen. McClellan and the more conservative members
of the party, there can be no question; he accordingly, as far
* Chicago Times. t Speech of S. S. Cox.
708 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
as it was possible for a candidate to compass that object, modi-
fied the platform upon which he was nominated by declaring in
his letter of acceptance that: "the reestablishment of the Union
in all its integrity is and must continue to be the indispensable
condition in any settlement. * * The Union must be pre-
served at all hazards. I could not look in the face of my gallant
comrades of the army and navy, who have survived so many
bloody battles, and tell them that their labors and the sacrifices
of so many of our slain and wounded brethren had been in
vain that we had abandoned that Union for which we have so
often periled our lives. No peace can be permanent without
Union."
The democratic state convention for nominating candidates
for state offices met at Springfield, September 6. The national
platform adopted at Chicago was reaffirmed, and the following
ticket placed in the field: for governor, James C. Robinson;
for lieutenant-governor, S. Corning Judd; state auditor, John
Rise; state treasurer, Alexander Starne; secretary of state,
Wm. A. Turney; superintendent of public instruction, John
P. Brooks; congressman at large, James C. Allen.
Robinson and Allen were members of congress, filling un-
expired terms, and had uniformly voted with Pendleton, as had
all the democratic members from Illinois, in favor of all propo-
sitions for compromise and peace. Starne and Brooks were the
then incumbents of the offices to which they were renominated.
No representative of the wr -wing of the party was placed upon
the ticket.
The political campaign of 1864 will be long remembered for
the vehemence and bitterness of the speeches made, for the
transcendent interest awakened, and the intense feelings of the
people regarding the result. The candidates on both sides
traversed the State from one end to the other, filling appoint-
ments to address mass meetings. Gens. Logan and Haynie, Col.
R. G. Ingersoll, and other war-democrats were granted leave of
absence and entered into the exciting scenes of the home con-
test with as much zeal and determination as they had upon those
where stern and resolute men arrayed in war's panoply had met
each other face to face. Copperheads, as northern sympathizers
with the South were designated, were lashed and denounced by
RESULT OF THE ELECTION. 709
the Union speakers with a savage fierceness which roused them
to fury; while the black abolitionists, and Lincoln hirelings,
as they were called, and alleged usurpations by the government
were held up to execration with hardly less bitterness and fiery
invective by the democrats. Notwithstanding the progress of
the draft, the greatest enthusiasm was aroused on the Union
side, which was increased to fever heat whenever the news came
that a victory had been won by the "brave boys in blue."
The general result in the country at large was that out of
twenty-five states voting, Lincoln carried all but three New
Jersey, Delaware, and Kentucky; the popular vote being for
Lincoln 2,216,067, McClellan 1,808,725. To this may be added
the soldiers' vote so far as returned, being only those from
twelve states, viz: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Pennsyl-
vania, Maryland, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, Wisconsin,
Kansas, and California, which was for Lincoln 119,754, and for
McClellan 34,291; Mr. Lincoln receiving a majority in all the
regiments except those from Kentucky.*
The Union, or republican ticket, was successful in Illinois by
a majority of 30,736, showing an increase in the republican vote
over 1862 of 69,000 and in the democratic vote of 22,000; the
aggregate vote being for Lincoln, 50 counties, 189,496; for Me
Clellan, 52 counties, 158,730. Eleven union congressmen were
elected out of fourteen, being a gain of five.
Had this political campaign been conducted solely on the
issue joined in the platforms of the respective parties, this
result, apparently showing so comparatively small a majority
in favor of the Union, would have been as surprising as dis-
couraging. But such was not the fact. While all the southern
sympathizers, secessionists, and peace-men voted for McClellan,
he also received the support of many war -democrats, who
earnestly believed that, if elected, he would prosecute the war
to a speedier and more satisfactory conclusion than would the
administration of Lincoln. Others again, especially in the
strong democratic counties, voted for McClellan in order to
maintain their party organization and retain power, without
looking particularly to the effect of such a vote upon the war.
The results of this election, as affecting the Nation, were of
* "American Conflict," II, 673.
710 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
the most momentous importance. The people of the loyal
states, after a thorough canvass and discussion, in which the
most unlimited freedom of speech was indulged and per-
mitted, in the face of heavy taxes, of an enormous and steadily
increasing national debt, amid stupendous losses of life in
battles, and all the trials, stress, storms, and sacrifices of an
internal war, including the enforced recruiting of armies, had
deliberately, and emphatically, and loyally, recorded their ver-
dict at the polls against the dogma of the sovereignty of the
states, out of which grew the theory of secession; against
slavery, as the principal cause of the rebellion; sustaining the
government in the arrest of disloyal citizens and in the suspension
of the writ of habeas corpus; and, above all, in favor of the
vigorous prosecution of the war, including the drafting of
soldiers until the last insurgent should lay down his arms
and return to his allegiance.
This was not only the logical result, but that which was
acquiesced in by the people. It was indeed such a fatal blow
to the efforts of the peace-compromise advocates, that thence-
forth they were compelled to nurse their wrath in impotent
silence and sullen chagrin.
The influence of this verdict was no less helpful and stimu-
lating to the Union armies than discouraging and demoralizing
to the Confederates, who could not fail to see that their greatest
triumph would have come with the defeat of Lincoln. The end
of the rebellion was now evidently not far off.
This election also fixed the status of the democratic party,
which found itself reduced to a hopeless minority in nearly
every loyal state, and rendered impossible the election of .a
president by that party, even though reinforced by the electoral
vote of all the seceding states, until 1884.
Lincoln referred to some of these results when, in response
to a congratulatory call upon him a few days after the election,
among other things he said: "but the election, along with its
incidental and undesired strife, has done good too. It has
demonstrated that a people's government can sustain a national
election in the midst of a great civil war. Until now it has not
been known to the world that this was a possibility. It shows,
also, how sound and how strong we still are. It shows that
CLOSE OF THE VAXES' ADMINISTRATION. 71 1
even among candidates of the same party, he who is most
devoted to the Union and most opposed to treason can receive
most of the people's vote. * * While I am duly sensible
to the high compliment of a reelection, and duly grateful, as I
trust, to Almighty God for having'directed my countrymen to a
right conclusion, as I think for their own good, it adds nothing
to my satisfaction that any other man may be disappointed or
pained by the result."
The administration of Gov. Yates was the fruitful theme of
heartfelt commendation among all Union-loving citizens. He
had been a firm, consistent, and unfaltering supporter of the
Union in its struggle for existence from the beginning of the
rebellion. He had shown himself the unfailing friend of the
volunteer, following him to the field with State assistance,
wherever practicable, and had lauded his heroic deeds on every
occasion; and by the devotion of his voice, his pen, and his
best energies to the cause of freedom and its defenders, he had
earned that title which he so worthily wore, of the "War-
Governor of Illinois."
In his farewell message to the legislature, he pointed with
not unbecoming pride to the favorably changed conditions,
looking to the early triumph of the Union cause, as follows:
"Grant has driven the enemy step by step from its siege of
Washington to the gates of Richmond. Sheridan has swept
the valley of the Shenandoah, driving Early backward no more
to lay waste bur borders. Farragut remains undisputed con-
queror of the seas. Sherman dashes with Napoleonic tread,
unrestrained from city to city through the very heart of the
Confederacy, unfurling our flag defiantly in the face of Charles-
ton; while Thomas and his brave army at Nashville have lately
achieved perhaps the most glorious victory of the war; *
and our Nation today stands under brighter skies than have
smiled upon us since the inauguration of the president on the
4th of March, 1861."
Illinois up to December I, 1864, had furnished 197,260 men
for the war, barely one hundred less than the quotas of the
State under all calls from the government, including only 3062
drafted men.
The State debt, although the sum of $1,195,280 had been
712 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
paid thereon, had increased during the administration of Gov.
Yates by reason of the war-bonds issued, and was on Novem-
ber 30, 1864:
Internal-improvement stock and scrip $1,940,978
Liquidation bonds - 234,650
Interest bonds - - 1,909,244
Refunded stock - 1,837,000
Normal-University bonds - 65,000
Thornton-loan bonds and balance - 185,625
War-bonds - 1,679,100
Illinois-and-Michigan Canal bonds - 3,269,967
121 McAllister and Stebbins bonds - 57,000
$11,178,564
The whole amount expended by the State through the army
auditor's office up to December i, 1864, was $3,812,525, which
was subsequently adjusted and refunded by the general govern-
ment.
While during the past four years there had been an increase
of property, corresponding to the increased volume and accu-
mulations of business, its value as returned by the county
assessors had decreased from $367,227,742 in 1860, to $331,-
999,871 in 1863. This undervaluation was insisted upon in
each county on the ground that other counties were assessed
lower, which would consequently increase its proportionate
share of state taxes. The taxes collected for the years 1861-2
exceeded in amount those for the years 1863-4.
The treasurer's statement for the years 1863-4, ' 1S as follows:
RECEIPTS :
NAME OF FUND.
IN TREASURY, RECEIVED FROM DEC. I, 1862, TOTAL
DEC. I, 1862. TO NOV. 30, 1864. RECEIPTS.
Revenue fund $374,697.19
O< ,t-n r1<^Kf fiinrl ^
$497,616.11
589,128.94
1,390,269.42
212,810.20
774,947-71
$872,313.30
589,128.94
1,751,252.42
286,713.33
997,441.47
338.26
363,976.17
Interest fund - 360,983.00
State school-fund - 73,903.13
Central railroad fund 222,493.76
Delinquent land-tax fund 338.26
War-fund 15,101.33
348,874.84
$1,047,516.67 $3,813,647.22 $4,861,163.89
GROWTH DURING THE WAR.
713
EXPENDITURES :
NAME OF FUND.
PAID AT TREASURY FROM
DEC. I, 1862 TO NOV. 30, l86
BALANCE IN TREASURY, TOTAL
DEC. I, 1864. EXPENDITURES.
Revenue fund
$869,049.80
$3,263.50
$872,313.30
State-debt fund
4-50
589,124.44
589,128.94
Interest fund
1,441,995.84
309,256.58
1,751,252.42
State school-fund -
174,637.39
112,075.94
286,713.33
Central railroad fund
798,573-27
198,868.20
997,441.47
Delinquent land-tax fund 7.20
33I-06
338.26
War-fund
363,965.41
10.76
363,976.17
$3,648,233.41
Total amount in the treasury, Dec.
$1,212,930.48 $4,861,163.89
I, 1864, $1,212,930.48
Notwithstanding the withdrawal of 200,000 of her citizens to
the scene of war, the population of the State had steadily
increased during the last four years over 10,000 more votes
having been polled in 1864 than in 1860. Although, for the
first months of the war, the channels of trade were interrupted
and all plans for improvement were deranged by the withering
pall of civil strife which hung over the country, the people
gradually arose to the demands of the hour and with renewed
energies had developed the natural resources of the State to an
unprecedented degree. Agriculture, with increasing demands
from the army and aided by the improved machinery which the
inventive genius of her people had supplied to take the place
of manual labor withdrawn to her armies, received a new and
marvellous impetus. Prices had steadily advanced each year*
and farmers were never before so prosperous. Currency, was
now abundant greenbacks and national-bank notes and
although gold was high, being at a premium of $1.40, quoted
at $2.40, manufactures increased and every department of
business was active and remunerative.
1861, $.85 to .90
1862, .90 to 1.02
1863, 1. 10 to 1.15
1864, i. 30 to i. 75
$.2510 .30 $2.25 to 4.00 $4. oo to 4.50
.3510 .40 2.00104.50 4.00 to 4.50
.80 to .90 4.25105.25 5.00 to 6.50
i. oo to 1.05 6.00 to 8.00 10.00 to 12.00
4 6
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Administration of Gov. Oglesby, 1865-9 Twenty-fourth
General Assembly Yates Elected to United-States
Senate The Thirteenth Amendment Laws Close
of the War Assassination of President Lincoln.
RICHARD James Oglesby, the governor elect, was born in
Oldham County, Kentucky, July 25, 1824. He came to
Illinois with an uncle in 1836, and was apprenticed to the car-
penter's trade, which, with farming and rope-making, engaged
his attention until he became of age. Having studied law during
his leisure hours, he was admitted to the bar and began the
practice of his profession at Sullivan, Moultrie County. No
advantages of a liberal education or family influence contributed
to his subsequent success in life. He began his political
career in 1852, as a Scott elector, and in 1858 was an unsuc-
cessful candidate for congress in the Decatur district. He
took an active part in the campaign of 1860 and was elected to
the State senate. When the civil war broke out, resigning his
office, he tendered his services to the government the very day
on which the president issued his first call for troops. Having
had a previous and valuable experience as lieutenant of an
Illinois company in the Mexican war, his promotion from the
colonelcy of the Eighth regiment to the rank of major-general
was as rapid as it was deserved by faithful service and gallant
conduct in the field. At the bloody battle of Corinth, while
leading a charge against the enemy, he was shot through the left
lung so severely that he was reported to be fatally injured.
Partially recovering from his wound, he was appointed comman-
der of a corps, but finding himself physically unable to dis-
charge the duties of the arduous position he resigned his
command in May, 1864.
He was the first fruit of the war in this State garnered into
the great harvest of politics. His naturally strong mind had
been enriched and broadened by travel in Europe, as well as
by military experience ; and the inartificial but impetuous
THt
OF THt
YiV Cf ILLINOIS
LIEUT.-GOV. BROSS. 715
eloquence of his speeches throughout the State during the late
canvass had aroused an enthusiasm which was equally bene-
ficial to his party and to the cause of the Union. His strong
feelings and resonant voice, his homely metaphors and vigor-
ous denunciations, his humorous sallies, forcible reasoning, and
earnest, even passionate manner, carried his hearers along the
current of his thoughts as does the Mississippi's flood the drift-
wood floating upon its surface. He entered into no glove con-
tests but with bare hands administered effective "punishment"
to his antagonists.
His mobile features, his clean-shaven, expressive face, and
his bluff, hearty, western manner combined to impart to his ap-
pearance a charm, which was heightened by a physique of sym-
metrical and commanding proportions. With this combination
of intellectual and physical gifts, it must be conceded that a
man of no ordinary powers had been placed in the chair of
state.
William Bross,* the lieutenant-governor elect, was selected as
a representative of the loyal press, as a deserved recognition of
its powerful influence in upholding the cause of the Union and
sustaining the army in the field. He was born in Sussex
County, New Jersey, Nov. 4, 1813. At the age of nine years,
his family removed to Pennsylvania, where he lived until the
attainment of his majority. After graduating with honor from
Williams College in 1838, he enlisted in the great army of
teachers, in whose ranks he worthily served 'for many years.
Soon after his removal to Chicago in 1848, he entered upon
his life-work, as one of the conductors of the Democratic
Press, subsequently and now the Chicago Tribune. His experi-
ence in this responsible position had made him so familiar with
the political questions of the day that he was called to the
stump in 1856, where facts and figures were handled by him
with such ability as to contribute very largely to the success of
the republican party. He also spoke effectively in the great
* Gov. Bross died in Chicago, Jan. 27, 1890. Up to the time of his decease, he
was a hale and hearty veteran of the busy past. After his retirement from public
and official life, he devoted himself largely to literature, and published many valu-
able papers, some of which were read before the Chicago Historical Society. He
was the author, among other works, of a brief "History of Chicago," "History of
Camp Douglas," and of "Tom Quick."
7l6 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
campaign of 1860; and, as a candidate, made a thorough and
very acceptable canvass of the State in 1864. With his sturdy
frame and massive face, he presided over the senate with marked
fairness, affability, and dignity. It was remarked, at the close
of the session, upon the passage of the resolution thanking the
lieutenant-governor for "the highly impartial and prompt man-
ner in which he had discharged his duties," that this had been
the first session in many years, during which no appeal had
been taken from the decisions of the presiding officer.
The republicans in the late election had secured a majority
in both houses of the general assembly, the senate standing 14
to 1 1 and the house 5 1 to 34. The latter body was composed
very largely of new material, only 14 out of the 85 members
having had any previous legislative experience. Among these
were H. C. Burchard, John Thomas, Scott Wike, M. M. Morrill,
Harrison Noble, D. J. Pinckney, A. M. Miller, Ansel B. Cook,
and John T. Springer.
On the list of new members of the lower house appeared for
the first time the names of Franklin Corwin, Wm. K. Murphy,
Henry D. Cook, Isaac C. Pugh, Maiden Jones, M. L. Josslyn,
Edward S. Isham, Nathaniel Niles, William H. Neece, Henry
C. Childs, and Allen C. Fuller. Among the new senators were
Murray McConnel, Andrew W. Metcalf, John B. Cohrs, Alfred
Webster, and Francis A. Eastman.
Allen C. Fuller of Boone County was elected speaker of the
house, receiving 48 votes to 23 for A. M. Miller of Logan
County. This was an honor not often conferred upon new
members, but was conceded to Gen. Fuller in consequence of
the able and faithful manner in which he had discharged the
duties of the office of adjutant -general, as well also, as on
account of the flattering support he had received before the
republican state-convention as a candidate for governor.
Walter S. Frazier was elected clerk of the house, Charles
Turner assistant-clerk, and Gershom Martin doorkeeper. John
F. Nash was chosen secretary of the senate, George H. Harlow
assistant-secretary, and Caswell P. Ford sergeant -at- arms.
The last message of Gov. Yates was delivered on January 2,
1865, the day upon which the twenty-fourth general assembly
convened. It was an exhaustive, ably-prepared, and carefully-
ELECTION OF YATES TO THE SENATE.
digested document, in which were reviewed the principal events
of his administration. He recommended the enactment of a
registry law, of one permitting soldiers to vote in the field, and
the repeal of the black laws.
The oath of office was administered to Gov. Oglesby and the
other newly-elected state-officers, January 17, when the gov-
ernor delivered his inaugural address. The key-note of this
patriotic state-paper is found in one of the opening sentences,
as follows: "With our eyes open and our hearts full of devotion
to the flag of our country, we declare before the world that the
rebellion and human slavery shall fall and perish together."
In discussing the then proposed thirteenth amendment, he
disposed of the question so frequently asked by its opponents,
"what is to become of the negro after he is set free?" in the
following way "It might be better asked, what may not be-
come of him? He can labor he can learn he can fight,
improve, aspire; and if, after we shall have tried for as long to
make him a useful, free man, as we have a useless slave, we
shall fail, and he shall fail, there will be time enough left in
which to solve this persistent question. If there were no higher
motive for emancipation, I would still fervently advocate it as a
punishment to traitors for the crime of treason."
He referred to the administration of his predecessor in terms
of warm commendation, and united with him in urging the
passage of a law allowing soldiers to vote, as well as of an
amendment to the militia law.*
The first work of the general assembly was to meet in joint-
session on January 5, for the purpose of electing a United-States
senator in the place of Wm. A. Richardson. Ex-Gov. Yates
was the leading republican candidate, and had been so generally
accepted by the people for the position that no organized oppo-
sition appeared against him up to the time of the meeting of
the legislature. It was then found that several members pre-
ferred that the choice should fall upon some one else, this
* The staff appointments of the governor were made as follows: Brig. -Gen. Isham
N. Haynie, adjutant-general and chief-of-staff vice A. C. Fuller, resigned; Lt.-Col.
Edward P. Niles, assistant-adjutant-general; Col. John Wood, quartermaster-general;
Col. John Williams, paymaster-general; Col. Wm. D. Crowell, chief of ordnance;
Cols. James H. Bowen and D. B. James, aides-de-camp; Col. George H. Harlow,
assistant-inspector-general.
71 8 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
sentiment finally focusing upon Hon. Elihu B. Washburne. The
latter appeared in person on the ground, and an animated and
somewhat acrimonious contest ensued. Some old political sores
were reopened, and damaging charges made by each party
against the other. But when the caucus met it was found that
the "Yates phalanx" was too strong to be broken, he receiving
38 votes to 22 for Washburne, two each being cast for Palmer
and Logan. His election by the general assembly followed in
course the democrats casting their votes for Jas. C. Robinson.
Gov. Yates* served in the senate through the trying period of
reconstruction and showed himself a debater of marked power.
His political career ended with the close of his senatorial term.
No public man in the State ever had so large a personal fol-
lowing as the "War-Governor." His manners were as winning
as those of a charming woman bent on conquests. In conver-
sation, his language was chaste and his style captivating, con-
veying an impression of superior ability and native good-
ness of heart. A more entertaining and hospitable host never
occupied the executive mansion. All were made welcome, with-
out stiffness, formality, or offensive discrimination. He had
devoted friends all over the State and, singular as it may appear,
some of the warmest of these, who never failed to stand by
him, were found among the democrats. They followed his
personal fortunes with a devotion which never faltered, con-
* He died suddenly at Barnum's Hotel, St. Louis, Nov. 27, 1873, on his return
from a visit to Arkansas, where, as a United-States commissioner, he had been ex-
amining a railroad.
Hon. N. Bateman, superintendent of public instruction, having been requested
to surrender the room he then occupied adjoining the governor's for the latter's use,
on leaving it, left behind the following eloquent letter. It is here given by courtesy
of E. F. Leonard, Esq., to show the estimate in which Gov. Yates was held by this
distinguished state-officer :
"Department of Public Instruction,
"Gov. YATES, SPRINGFIELD, ILL., July 24, 1862.
Dear Sir: This office is now at your service. Take it my dear friend my
noble, patriotic, glorious young Governor. May it be the place whence shall issue
orders, messages, appeals, and invocations, even more magnetic and thrilling if
possible, than those which have already fired the souls of the loyal hosts of Illinois.
Who knows but that you too ' were brought to the Kingdom for such a time as this. '
Be of good courage, falter not, and your name and memory will be green and
blessed, ages after the traitors and the treason against which you now battle shall
have sunk to execration and oblivion. God be with you, N. BATEMAN. "
LAWS PASSED. 719
tributing, by desirable information, by sacrifices, and personal
influence to his success; and this without the slighest conces-
sion of principle on the part of either.
His faults and weaknesses the too common heritage of the
great were those which grew out of his affectionate generosity
and impulsive warm-heartedness; that they cast a cloud over
his otherwise fair fame can not be denied; but if ever there
was a statesman whose high qualities and official record justified
the application of the proverb "De mortuis nil nisi bonum" it
was Richard Yates.
The first official act of the twenty-fourth general assembly,
within three days of its meeting, was the reenactment of the
appropriation bill of the last legislature, which the supreme
court, on account of the manner of its passage, had declared
null and void.
Other laws of a general nature, important in their character,
were passed at this session, as follows :
An act for the registry of electors, and to prevent fraudulent
voting, being the first of the many laws enacted in this State
on that subject.
To organize an experimental school for the instruction and
training of idiots and feeble-minded children.
To establish a home for the children of deceased soldiers.
Providing for the completion of the Illinois -and -Michigan
Canal, with such modifications as would "most effectually
secure the thorough cleansing of the Chicago River," and leasing
the former to the city of Chicago.
Authorizing the governor to appoint military state agents.
Creating the office of adjutant-general and fixing the rank
and defining the duties of that officer.*
An act providing that stock and grain shall be forwarded by
railroads in order as delivered the first step in the direction of
the subsequent "granger" legislation in this State.
The most important action of this general assembly, however,
viewed from a national standpoint, was the ratification of the
thirteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States.
Neither the acts of congress nor the president's proclamation
* Previous incumbents of this position had been simply executive appointees, serv-
ing as chief-of-staff of the governor as commander-in-chief.
720 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
had laid their hand upon slavery in the border states. The
progress of the war, however, had made it apparent that the
"peculiar institution" was doomed, whichever way the great
insurrection might end. Preliminary steps in favor of eman-
cipation through state action had been taken in Missouri and
Maryland in 1863.
Believing that the time had come for a national movement in
that direction, Senator John B. Henderson of Missouri, on Jan.
13, 1864, introduced a joint-resolution proposing an amendment
to the constitution to the effect that slavery should not thereafter
exist in the Un ted States. A similar proposition was submitted
soon after by Senator Charles Sumner, and both were referred to
the senate judiciary committee. On February 10, Lyman Trum-
bull, chairman of the committee, reported back what was sub-
sequently adopted as the thirteenth amendment. It passed
the senate April 8, 1864,* but failed at the time to secure the
requisite two-thirds in the house. At the reassembling of con-
gress in December, 1864, the president urged the passage of
this amendment, and on January 6, 1865, on motion of James M.
Ashley of Ohio, it was called up for reconsideration; but a
vote was not reached until January 31, when the resolution was
adopted by a vote of 119 yeas to 56 nays. This result, when
announced by Speaker Colfax, "was received by the house and
spectators with an outburst of enthusiasm. The members on
the republican side instantly sprang to their feet, and, regard-
less of parliamentary rules, applauded with cheers and clapping
of hands. The example was followed by the male spectators
in the galleries, which were crowded to excess, who tossed up
their hats and cheered loud and long, while the ladies, hundreds
of whom were present, rose in their seats and waved their hand-
kerchiefs, participating in and adding to the general excitement.
This lasted for several minutes. "^
The resolution was reported to the senate and received the
presidential sanction on Feb. I, and the same day the fact was
telegraphed by Senator Trumbull to Gov. Oglesby, who immedi-
ately communicated the same in a message to the legislature,
in which he said: "Let Illinois be the first state in the Union
to ratify by act of her legislature this proposed amendment. It
* Congressional Globe, 1863-4, part 2, 1490. f Ibid., 1865, part I, 531.
RATIFYING THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT. 721
is just, it is humane, it is right to do so. * * It is a fit occa-
sion to speak out to the world upon a question of such magni-
tude, and the whole civilized world will joyously ratify the deed;
the proud soldier in the field will shout 'amen' and march on
to new victories with a firmer and more confident step."
In the senate, on motion of A. W. Mack, the rules were sus-
pended, and he presented the joint-resolution for ratification,
which was read and referred to the committee on federal rela-
tions. Afterward, on the same day, the resolution was called
up and its adoption moved. Senators Green and Cohrs made
speeches against the measure, and Gen. Murray McConnel, "the
Nestor of the senate," the friend of Douglas, and for over a
quarter of a century a leading and influential democrat, made
a most able, eloquent, and patriotic speech in its favor.* Senator
Vandeveer moved to lay the resolution on the table, which was
negatived by the close vote of 12 to n. The previous question
having been moved and carried, the joint-resolution was adopted
by a vote of 18 to 6.
Those voting in the affirmative were: Senators Addams,
Allen, Bushnell, Eastman, Green of Marion, Lansing, Lindsay
(democrat), Mack, Mason (democrat), Me Connel (democrat),
Metcalf, Peters, Richards, Strain, Schofield (democrat), Ward,
Webster, and Worcester (democrat). Those voting in the nega-
tive were: Senators Cohrs, Green of Alexander, Hunter, Riley,
Vanderveer, and Wescott, all democrats. Senator Funk (repub-
lican) absent.
This action of the senate having been reported to the house,
Alexander McCoy moved that the latter body concur. The
previous question having been moved by Merritt L. Josslyn and
carried, the joint-resolution was adopted by a vote of 58 to 28.
Six democrats did not record their votes, all the others voted
in opposition.
And thus it transpired that Illinois was the first to act, in
advance of all other states, in ratifying this amendment which
secured freedom to the slave/f* The proceedings, unlike those
Gov. Bross' "Ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment."
+ Rhode Island and Michigan were the next states to adopt the amendment, on
February 2 the last of the requisite twenty-five states being Georgia, Dec. 6, 1865.
Oregon, California, and Florida subsequently ratified the amendment, while the
states of Delaware, Kentucky, and New Jersey rejected it
722 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
in congress, were characterized by great solemnity and decorum.
Following this action came the repeal of the black laws
which had for so many years darkened the pages of our State
statutes.
The twenty- fourth general assembly adjourned on February
1 6, after a session of 46 days. As a body, its proceedings were
in striking contrast to those of its immediate predecessor.
There were no angry discussions, no personalities, no charges
of disloyalty. The work it accomplished was as diverse as it
was far reaching. As summarized by Speaker Fuller in his
closing remarks, 533 senate and 336 house- bills were passed.
Of these, only 91 were general in their character, 155 related
to incorporations of towns, 102 to legalizing taxes for bounty
purposes, 84 insurance charters, 61 railroad charters and amend-
ments, 52 relating to school-laws and education, and the bal-
ance to miscellaneous and local incorporations, relief bills, and
courts.
Under the last call of the president for troops, Illinois had
furnished 18,500 men before March 6, and recruiting was pro-
gressing favorably when, on April 13, it was brought to an
abrupt close by order of the secretary of war.
The surrender of Lee at Appomattox, on April 9; of John-
son, on April 26; and of Jones, Thompson, and Kirby Smith,
all in the same month by which over 100,000 combatants had
laid down their arms brought the great war of the rebellion
to a successful termination.*
Lee had remained too long in his entrenchments before Rich-
mond and Petersburg to find it possible successfully to retreat.
Had he succeeded in retiring sooner and in effecting a junction
with Johnson if such were his desire he might have still
remained at the head of a formidable army, and the struggle
might, perhaps, have been prolonged another year. But destiny
had ordered otherwise, and the collapse of the confederacy,
after its downfall had begun, was as swift and complete as its
rise had been sudden and widespread.
The tidings of the fall of Richmond assuring, as it did, the
* The respective commands of the Southern leaders named who thus became
prisoners of war numbered as follows: Lee's, 26,000; Johnson's, 29,924; Taylor's,
10,000; Jones', 8000; Thompson's, 7454; Smith's, 20,000.
ASSASSINATION OF THE PRESIDENT. 723
ultimate triumph of the cause of the Union thrilled the great
popular heart of the North with a joy almost delirious in its
intensity, and which found expression in modes as multiform as
they were felt to be inadequate.
From the chimes hanging in the massive temples of the
metropolis, and from the modest belfry that surmounted the
humble meeting-house of the country village, pealed forth the
bells whose iron tongues sounded sweetly in ears to which they
chanted their tale of ended strife; of a people now, for the first
time, really free, and of a Union to be forever indissoluble.
From crowded thoroughfares leaped forth the flames of blazing
bonfires, in whose light rejoiced exultant crowds whose eyes
were lifted with a loye and veneration never felt before toward
the ensign of a new and perpetual republic, whose stars shone
with a fresh lustre, since their light no longer fell upon the
shackles of a slave. And the silent thanksgiving that welled
up in every breast found voice in public utterances of praise to
Him to whom our forefathers had commended thejnfant Union
of States.
But the gladness of the hour was suddenly transformed into
a grief as bitter as the joy had been exultant. The telegraph-
wires, on the morning of April 15, flashed across the continent
the intelligence that blanched the cheeks of those who heard it
as though touched by the icy hand of death, and brought into
every home a sense of desolation akin to that which comes with
a sudden personal bereavement.
On Good Friday evening, April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth,
a mad actor, of rebel sympathies and associates, entered the
private box of the president at Ford's Theatre in Washington,
and placing a pistol at the back of his victim's head fired a ball
which pierced his brain. The president lingered, though un-
conscious, until the next morning when his great soul passed
from time to eternity. The chants of victory were changed into
cries of woe; the peans of triumph into the saddest of requiems.
But there remained a great consolation. Not in vain had
Abraham Lincoln offered on the altar of patriotism the best
years of his manhood, the highest powers of his mind even
the life-blood of that great heart which had never throbbed with
a selfish impulse. He had lived to see the fetters fall from
724 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
4,000,000 bondmen; to witness the triumphant termination of
that gigantic struggle in which for four years he had been the
central figure, and which triumph his sagacity, his patience, his
unwearying devotion had rendered possible. His eyes had
beheld the flag, for whose supremacy he had died, floating over
the capital of the rebellion. His life had been devoted to the
presentation before the bar of public opinion the cause of
human freedom and equal rights; that life did not close until
he had seen the glorious success of that cause in the court of *
ultimate resort the appeal to arms.
And it must be conceded, that if it had been ordained that
that great life was to end by the hand of an assassin, no hour
could have been selected which would more surely bestow upon
the victim the crown of martyrdom. Abraham Lincoln died
in the zenith of his fame. His grand work was finished. It
was not his destiny to be called upon to grapple with the
perplexing problems of reconstruction, nor to participate in the
feuds to which these disturbing and yet unsettled problems
gave birth. His fame abides unsullied and unquestioned; and
before his shrine, in the hearts of his countrymen, there passes
no cloud.
The sombre shadow of grief which overcast the land at his
death did not begin to lift until, after continuous and imposing
funeral ceremonies, extending from Washington for over sixteen
hundred miles, his remains were laid at rest in Oak- Ridge
Cemetery, near his old home in Springfield, May 4, 1865.
An association was organized on May 1 1, of which Governor
Oglesby was president, for the purpose of erecting a monument
to his memory. Nearly $200,000 was raised for this purpose,
of which $50,000 was contributed by the State of Illinois,
$10,000 by New York, $1000 by Missouri, and $500 by Nevada;
the balance was made up of individual subscriptions from
soldiers and sailors, Sunday-school scholars, churches, and
benevolent societies. The monument having been completed, the
ceremonies of dedication occurred Oct. 15, 1874, in the presence
of an immense concour-se. Gen. John M. Palmer presided and
Gov. Oglesby delivered the oration. President Grant, Vice-
President Henry Wilson, and Gen. Wm. T. Sherman, with many
other distinguished guests, were present and made addresses.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
The Civil War Number of Troops Engaged Battles
Losses Illinois in the War Quotas Troops Fur-
nished by Each County Bounties Paid Regimental
Losses at Fort Donelson Shiloh Stone River
Chickamauga Missionary Ridge Other Battles
Percentage of Losses Officers from Illinois Work
of the "Stay -at -Homes "Sanitary and Christian
Commissions Union League Songs of the War.
war of the rebellion will take its place in history
- among the greater wars of modern times. It was remarkable
not only on account of the magnitude of the issues involved,
but also for the numbers engaged, the length of its duration,
and the valor displayed by the soldiers of both sides, on many
hotly- contested fields.
The number of volunteers given in the table on the next page
includes the enlistments for all terms of service except those
for less than ninety days. In addition, during the war there
were recruited for the regular army about 67,000 men, not
more than two-thirds of whom were credited to the respective
states from which they came. The following totals also in-
clude all veterans and others whose names appear twice on the
rolls. The number of colored troops in the table embraces
only those who were organized in the confederate states the
whole number enlisted being 186,097.
The total number of officers and men in the Union army, if
reduced to a standard of three years' service for each man,
would be 2,326,168, who were organized into:
Artillery, - 78 regiments and 2 companies.
Cavalry, - 272 u M 2 n
Infantry, - - 1696 n M 6 n
Total, 2047 regiments.*
* " Statistical Record, " by Capt. Frederick Phisterer; " Regimental Losses, " by
William F. Fox.
725
726
ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
POPULATION, QUOTA, TROOPS ACTUALLY FURNISHED, AND NUMBER OF THOSK
WHO PAID COMMUTATION IN EACH OF THE UNITED STATES DURING THE
WAR OF THE REBELLION:
NAME
POPULATION
IN i860
QUOTAS
TOTAL TROOPS
FURNISHED
PAID
COMMUT'N*
PER CENT
POPUL'N
Maine, ...
628,279
73,587
70,107
2,007
II. 2
New Hampshire, .
- 326,073
35,897
33,937
692
ic. 4
Vermont, .
315,098
32,074
33,288
i,974
10.6
Massachusetts,
1,231,066
139,095
146,730
5,3 J 8
n. i
Rhode Island, . .
174,620
18,898
23,236
463
13-3
Connecticut,
. 460,147
44,797
55,864
*iS I S
12.2
New York,
3,880,735
507,148
448,850
18,197
1 1.6
New Jersey,
- 672,035
92,820
76,814
4,196
11.4
Pennsylvania,
2,906,215
385,369
337,936
28,171
ii. 6
Delaware, .
. 112,216
13,935
12,284
1,386
II.
Maryland, ' .
687,049
70,965
46,638
3,678
6-7
West Virginia,
- 393,234
34,463.
32,068
8.2
District of Columbia,
75,080
13,973
16,534
338
22.
Ohio, ...
2,339,5"
306,322
313,180
6,479
13-4
Indiana,
1,350,428
199,788
196,363
784
14-5
Illinois,
i,7",95i
244,496
259,092
55
I5.I
Michigan,
749, "3
95,007
87,364
2,008
1 1.7
Wisconsin, .
. 775,881
109,080
91,327
5,097
n. 8
Minnesota,
172,023
26,326
24,020
1,032
14.0
Iowa, .
- 674,913
79,521
76,242
67
"3
Missouri, ...
1,182,012
122,496
109, in
9.2
Kentucky, .
1,155,684
100,782
75,76o
3,265
6-5
Kansas, -
107,206
12,931
20, 149
2
1 8. 8
Tennessee, .
1,109,801
1,560
31,092
2.&
Arkansas,
435,450
780
8,289
i-9
North Carolina,
. 992,622
1,560
3,156
California,
379,994
15,725
4.1
Nevada,
6,857
1,080
15-7
Oregon, ...
52,465
1,810
3-4-
Washington Territory,
",594
964
8-3
Nebraska Territory, .
28,841
3,157
10.9-
Colorado Territory,
- 34,277
4,903
14-3
Dakota Territory,
206
~
New Mexico Territory,
93,5'6
6,561
7.0
Alabama,
2,576
-
Florida,
1,290
-
Louisiana,
5,224
Mississippi, _
545
*
Indian Nation,
3,530
Colored troops,
99,337
Total, . . 2,763,670 2,778,304 86,724
Number included in whole number furnished.
STRENGTH OF THE ARMY PRINCIPAL BATTLES. 727
The strength of the Union army at various periods* was:
PRESENT ABSENT TOTAL
Jan. i, 1861,
14,663
1,704
16,367
July i, 1861, -
- 183,588
3,163
186,751
Jan. i, 1862,
527,204
48,713
575,917
Jan. i, 1863, -
- 698,802
219,389
918,191
Jan. i, 1864,
611,250
249,487
860,737
Jan. i, 1865, -
- 620,924
338,536
959,46o
Mar. 31, 1865, - 657,747 322,359 980,086
May i, 1865, - - 797,807 202,709 1,000,516
During the war 2261 engagements took place of which 156
were in 1861, 564 in 1862, 627 in 1863, 779 in 1864, and 135 in
1865. Of these, 519 occurred in Virginia, 298 in Tennessee,
244 in Missouri, 186 in Mississippi, 167 in Arkansas, 138 in
Kentucky, 85 in North Carolina, 50 in West Virginia, 78 in
Alabama, and 60 in South Carolina.
The table on the following page, prepared from authentic
sources of information, exhibits the numbers engaged and the
killed, wounded, captured, and missing, in some of the principal
battles of the war.
The difficulties in the way of attaining absolute accuracy as
to particulars in regard to most of these engagements appear
to be insuperable. At Antietam for instance, Colonel Walter
H. Taylor, in his "Four Years with General Lee," insists that
the confederate force numbered only 35,255. The Richmond
Enquirer, in its account of the battle, places Lee's strength at
60,000; while Pollard, in his southern history, says, that Lee
had 45,000 when the battle commenced and that this number
was increased to 70,000 before its close. The official returns
of the army of Virginia on September 22, only five days after
the battle, showed present for duty 36,187, infantry and artil-
lery.^ The number here given is obtained by adding to this
admitted return, the conceded losses 12,601, and the cavalry,
after deducting 2000 for incoming stragglers.
Gen. McClellan's force in this engagement, as stated by him-
self, was 87,164; but it must be borne in mind, in all these
estimates, that the returns of Union officers differed from those
* " Provost-Marshal General's Report." t Davis' "Rise and Fall," II, 343.
728
ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
of the confederates in this respect, that while the former reck-
oned as present for duty all those who received pay, including
musicians, teamsters, special details, and artificers, the latter
NAME, DATE, NUMBER ENGAGED, KILLED, WOUNDED, CAPTURED, AND MISS-
ING IN SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL BATTLES OF THE WAR OF REBELLION:
BATTLE OF
go
M
J W
.J Q
o
D H
M ^
DATB
3
o
B
i
o
* t
j
t-
z Z
(J
3
h g
<
80
I
i
O
u
z
x$
Bull Ru
''C U onfed
July 21, 1861
18,572
*2I,900
470
387
1,071
1,582
1,793
2,334
1,982
8-3
9-
Ft. Donelson, ^.'
Feb. 13-6, 1862
+27,000
+19,600
500
466
2, 1 08
1,534
224
13,829
2,832
15,829
10.
10.
Grant
Apr. 6, 7, 1862
+33,000
i,472
6,350
2,826
10,648
23.7
Shiloh
Wallace
Buel
u 7, "
i 7,
6,000
20,000
4i
241
251
1,807
4
55
13,047
17.2
Confed.
u 6, 7, u
+41,000
1,728
8,012
1,175
10,915
23-7
Antietam, - ^
Sept. 17, 1862
J 70, ooo
53,000
2,108
1,886
9,549
9,348
753
1,367
12,410
12,601
16.7
23-7
Perryville, - .'
Oct. 8, 1862
22,000
15,000
845
2,943
2,635
489
251
4,277
3,396
19-
22.6
Stone's River, ^
Dec. 31, 1862,
and Jan. 2, 1863
43,400
46,600
1,294
7,802
7,945
1^027
13,249
10,266
22.1
2O.
Gettysburg, - <-.'
July i, 2, 3, 1863
1182,000
1172,000
3,063
2,592
14,492
12,706
5,435
22,990
20,448
21.4
2O.
Chickamauga, ^
Sep. 18-9, 1863
57,840
60,589
1,656
2,268
9,749
13,613
4', 774
1,090
16,179
16,971
20.
26.2
Wilderness, - ~
May 5, 7, 1864
118,769
61,000
2,246
12,037
k. & w.
3,383
estim'd
17,666
8,000
12.
13.2
* James B. Fry in Century Magazine, xxix, 31; "Rebellion Record," II, no.
t "From Fort Henry to Corinth," M. F. Force, 60-2; "War of the Rebellion,"
Official Reports, Ser. i, x; Grant's and Sherman's "Memoirs"; "Battles and
Leaders of the Civil War, " in Century Magazine, xxix to xxxiv. It is evident that
the confederate losses at Shiloh as above are not placed high enough. Reports
of colonels show this; and indeed William P. Johnson admits a loss of 218 killed in
addition to those reported.
J"The Antietam and Fredericksburg, " by F. W. Palfrey; William Swinton's
"Campaigns"; Official Reports in "Rebellion Record" and "War of the Rebellion."
Official Reports; "Chickamauga," by John B. Turchin, 240; Century Magazine;
"The Army of the Cumberland," by Henry M. Cist. At Perryville, the principal
fighting was done by the corps of Gen. Alexander McD. McCook which numbered
14,000, and lost in killed and wounded 3299 over 23 per cent.
]| " Gettysburg, " by Henry J. Hunt, Century Magazine, xxxiii; Swinton, supra;
Pollard's "Southern History of the War"; Davis' " Rise and Fall of the Southern
Confederate Government"; and Taylor's "Four Years with Gen. Lee." The con-
federate losses at Gettysburg, as here given, are also undoubtedly much too small, as
appears by the table of reports in "Rebellion Records," Vol. XXVII. They lost
also more in prisoners than they admitted.
STATISTICAL DIFFICULTIES. 729
reported only actual combatants. Estimating the Union army,
after the confederate method, the number of troops engaged
did not exceed 70,000; and of these the fifth and sixth corps
and cavalry division numbering 20,000 effectives being held
in reserve, lost only 596 less than three per cent of their
number.
The battle of Gettysburg affords another illustration Gen.
Meade, in his testimony on the conduct of the war, stated that
his army numbered 94,000. The return of those "present for
duty" on the morning of June 30, 1863, showed 77,208 infan-
try.* If to these figures be added the cavalry and artillery, the
aggregate will approach very closely the number given by him.
The Comte de Paris, however, in his history of the war, esti-
mates that Meade had only 82,000 actually on the field.
In respect to the strength of the confederates, Lee had 68,000
infantry in his command at the end of May and admitted that
his effective force at Chambersburg, a few days before the bat-
tle, was 70,000. Davis, in his "Rise and Fall," gives the rebel
strength at Gettysburg at only 62,000. This estimate, however,
undoubtedly too low, excludes the cavalry, only a portion of
which was engaged and which is included in the table.
The same difficulty exists with regard to the number of
killed and wounded. Gen. Grant insists that at Shiloh the
confederate estimate as given in the table "must be incorrect,"
and says that "We found by actual count more of the enemy's
dead in front of the divisions of McClernand and Sherman
alone than here reported (i728).^
The confederate loss in killed at Corinth was reported to be
505, and yet Gen. Rosecrans, in his report at the time and
reiterated in a late account of the battle by him in the Century
Magazine, states the number to have been 1423. \
The severity of the fighting in these sanguinary engagements
in comparison with other celebrated battles, in our own and
other countries, is shown in the following table compiled from
the most trustworthy sources of information. The losses given
in the tables are generally those presented in the official reports
of either side.
* Swinton's "Campaigns," 310. t Grant's "Memoirs," i, 367.
J Century Magazine, vol. xxxii, 901. "War of the Rebellion," xvii, 170.
47
730
ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
NAME, DATE, NUMBER ENGAGED, KILLED, WOUNDED, CAPTURED, AND MISS-
ING, AND PER CENT KILLED AND WOUNDED IN CELEBRATED BATTLES
OF THIS AND OTHER COUNTRIES:
BATTLE OF
DATS
NO. EN-
GAGED
KILLED
WOUN'D
CAPT'D
OR MISS
TOTAL
PR CT
KIL'D
WOUN
Blenheim, Marlborough
n French and Bavarians
Aug. 13, 1704
60,000
60,000
5,OOO
12,000
8,000
8,000
15,200
13,000
35,200
Zorndorf
Russians
Aug. 25, 1758
30,000
50,000
",390
21,531
k.,w.,
&miss.
",390
21,531
Marengo, _ ' .^u?*
June 14, 1800
29,100
31,000
7,000
7,000
3,000
7,000
10,000
24.
22.6
Austerlitz, . ' ^^^J
Dec. 2, 1805
90,000
8O,OOO
12,000
10,400
19,600
12,000
30,000
13-
Borodino " Napoleon
Sept. 7, 1812
I25,OOO
28,085
28,085
22.
' - - Russians
130,000
50,000
&miss.
50,000
-.TT . , Napoleon
Waterloo, . W JJ
June 18, 1815
74,100
72,720
5,000
4,206
15,000
14,539
6,300
4,231
26,300
22,976
27-
25.7
Ai, * " Allies
Alma > - - Russians
Sept. 20, 1854
50,000
40,000
589
4,600
2,699
k. &w.
400
3,288
5,000
6-5
10.5
Solferino, ^J^jj;
June 24, 1859
150,000
170,000
18,249
19,941
n
n
7,000
18,249
26,941
12.1
II.7
Sadowa " " ^ russ | ans
July , 1866
212,000
20,000
ii
20,000
9-4
Austrians
J J O>
190,000
40,000
n
10,000
50,000
21.
^ . ,, Prussians
Oravelotte, _ French
Aug. 1 8, 1870
146,000
174,000
4,449
25,000
15,189
k. &w.
939
20,577
25,000
13-4
14-3
Bunker Hill, . Am ^SJ
June 17, 1775
1,835
3,500
139
226
2 7 8
828
36
453
1,054
22.7
Germantown American
Oct. 4.. 1777
II,OOO
152
521
400
1,073
6.
' British
* *T, * / / /
15,000
75
456
14
525
5-
Monmouth, . ^JJh
June 28, 1778
10,500
10,000
69
249
160
170
130
61
359
480
:
Eutaw Springs, An ^tish
Sept. 8, 1781
2,310
2,000
114
85
262
608
32
& miss.
408
693
1 6.
Chippewa, . ' Am B e r "SJ
July 5, 1814
3,300
2,200
61
236
255
352
19
46
335
634
9-5
26.
_ - . . A.incriciii
Lundy's Lane, __ British
July 25, 1814
3,800
3,200
171
84
571
559
no
235
852
878
20.
2O.
New Orleans, ^^
Jan. 8, 1815
4,750
6,300
8
293
13
1,267
482
21
2,042
5
24.7
Buena Vista, _ Mexican
Feb. 23, 1847
4,700
I7,OOO
267
500
456
23
1,000
746
1,500
15-
3-
MolenodelRey, Am e e x r !^
Sept. 8, 1847
3,154
14,000
191
230
''588
k., w.,
20
852
799
1,082
24.7
2.
* Authorities consulted : Mulhall's " Dictionary of Statistics;" Abbott's " Frederick
the Great"; "Haydn's Dictionary of Dates"; "New American Cyclopaedia"; Ali-
son's "History of Europe"; Creasy's "Fifteen Decisive Battles' 1 ; "Encyclopaedia
Britannica"; Gordon's "History of the American War"; Marshall's and Irving's
"Washington"; Carrington's " Battles of the American Revolution"; ".Bunker-Hill
Battle," by Geo. E. Ellis; Butler's and Graham's "History of the United States";
Wiles' Register; Lossing's "War of 1812"; Armstrong's "Notices of the War of
1812"; James' "Military Occurrences of the Late War" [1812]; Parton's and
Eaton's " Andrew Jackson. "
The following table shows the total losses in the Union Army
during the war of the rebellion from all causes:
UNION LOSSES.
731
LOSSES IN THE UNION ARMY DURING THE WAR OF THE REBELLION FROM
ALL CAUSES:
WHOLE KILLED DIED OF DIED OF OTHER TOTAL
NUMBER IN BATTLE WOUNDS DISEASE CAUSES DEATHS
Maine, ...
- 64,973
i,773
1,411
5,798
416
9,398
New Hampshire, .
32,930
1,074
829
2,721
258
4,882
Vermont, ...
- 32,549
1,061
748
3,083
332
5,224
Massachusetts,
122,781
3,705
2,410
7,013
814
13,942
Rhode Island,
- 19,521
296
164
732
129
1,321
Connecticut,
51,937
I,IO2
845
3,068
339
5,354
New York,
409,561
12,101
6,984
24,545
2,904
46,534
New Jersey, ...
67,500
1,664
914
2,834
342
5,754
Pennsylvania,
3iS,<H7
9,351
5,9H
15,901
2,017
33,183
Delaware, ...
11,236
2O7
176
431
68
882
Maryland,
- 33,995
527
382
1,807
266
2,982
West Virginia,
31,872
778
469
2,495
275
4,017
District of Columbia, .
- ",912
28
13
194
55
290
Ohio, ....
304,814
6,835
4,753
21,721
2,166
35,475
Indiana, ...
193,748
4,272
2,971
17,785
1,644
26,672
Illinois, ...
255,057
5,874
4,020
22,786
2,154
34,834
Michigan, -
- 85,479
2,798
1,650
9,537
768
14,753
Wisconsin, ...
91,029
2,385
1,417
8,068
43i
12,301
Minnesota,
- 23,913
394
232
1,836
122
2,584
Iowa, ....
75,797
2,065
1,475
9,013
448
13,001
Missouri, ...
. 100,616
2,191
1,126
9,468
1,100
13,885
Kentucky, ...
5i,743
1,485
993
7,243
1,053
io,774
Kansas, ...
. 18,069
5i8
219
1,674
219
2,630
Tennessee, ...
31,092
466
278
5,236
797
6,777
Arkansas,
. 8,289
234
7i
1,262
146
i,7i3
Other Southern States, .
14,756
178
122
i,553
289
2,142
California,
- 15,725
73
35
344
121
573
Oregon, .
1,810
10
i
21
13
45
Colorado, ...
- 4,903
118
35
1 2O
50
323
Nebraska, ...
3> J 57
30
5
160
44
239
Territories,
. 8,811
59
20
185
174
338
Colored troops,
i,7i5
1,179
29,756
4,197
36,847
Regular army, etc.,
1,584
1,103
5,409
746
8,842
-
Indians, ...
86
21
775
136
1,018
Total
2,494,592*
67,077
42,993
224,854
24,904
359,528
The figures given include both regulars and volunteers, but
do not embrace sailors, negroes, or those who purchased com-
mutation. The period of service covered in the regular army
is from April 15, 1861, to Aug. I, 1865; that of the volunteers
from the date of their muster in, until their final discharge.
Prisoners of war, who died after the mustering out of their
* Exclusive of colored troops, 178,975; sailors, 101,207; and commutations, 86,-
724; the returns relating to white troops alone.
732 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
respective regiments, have been counted so far as ascertained.
By far the greater portion of the volunteer army was disbanded
in the summer and fall of 1865, but the process of mustering
out continued gradually until November, 1867 the last white
organization being discharged on the i8th, and the last negro
company on the 2Oth.
In regard to these losses generally, there is a discrepancy
between the reports of the adjutant-general, quartermaster-
general, and surgeon-general. In the preparation of this table,
that of the adjutant-general, having been corrected to May 22,
1885, has been followed.
If from the entire enlisted force of 2,865,028 there be deducted
an allowance of one third for duplications in enrolment and
desertions, there would remain an effective force, likely to have
been actively engaged, of 1,910,000 troops. The deaths by disease
and the total number of deaths may be placed upon the whole
number of men furnished by the states and territories during
the war 2,494,592.* Upon this basis of computation the losses
may be apportioned, under the different categories enumerated
in the table, as follows: one out of every 17.3 was killed or died
of wounds received in battle; one out of every n of the total
troops furnished died of disease or other causes; and one man
out of every 7.71, or 13 per cent, died while in service.
The rates of mortality from casualties in battle and from
wounds was larger among New England troops than among
those from the West; the latter, however, sustained a larger
proportionate loss through disease and other causes.
As regards the losses among Illinois troops, the computation
being made on the same basis: one in 20 was killed in battle or
died of wounds; one in 11.2 died of disease; and one out of
every 7.3 died from all causes while in the service.
Before the invention of gunpowder and the employment of
fire-arms in warfare, a battle was an aggregation of close per-
sonal encounters. In these hand-to-hand conflicts with sword
or lance or spear, individual strength, dexterity, bravery, and
endurance were the principal factors in deciding the issue, and
the results were often sanguinary beyond anything witnessed in
* Estimate of Capt. F. Phisterer in his " Statistical Record, " sailors and colored
troops not included.
ANCIENT AND MODERN FIGHTING. 733
modern times. At the battle of Cannae, where the Roman
eagles were trailed in the dust beneath the feet of Hannibal,
out of a force of 80,000 foot and 6000 horse, the vanquished left
70,000 either killed or wounded on the field, while the Cartha-
ginian loss was 5700 out of 40,000 foot and 10,000 horse.
Under the system of today, the opposing armies are, more or
less, separated by the carrying distance of a bullet, ball, or shell,
and the probability of being slain is more a question of tactical
manoeuvring and of the doctrine of chances than of personal
prowess the shot of a man who is neither skilful nor brave may
prove as deadly as that of the most courageous veteran.
Rarely does modern warfare approach that of ancient times
in fatality. Yet at those critical periods when the issue of a
battle hangs, as it were, upon a single thread, to be turned by
the resolute daring of a heroic dash in the face of bristling
bayonets,
"With cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them,
Stormed at with shot and shell,"
personal valor and individual prowess often decide the supremacy
of the bloody field. So also when the exigencies of the mo-
ment call for the display of that unflinching determination, that
cool courage, which nerves devoted men to stand to their guns
until cut down, one by one, by the sabres of the charging foe,
the carnage becomes frightful; and when it becomes essential
that a troop should "stand in the gap," to be made a target for
the shot and shell of the enemy in order that a strategic point
may be held, and gallant men are cut down as the bending
grass before the mower's scythe, the loss of life is appalling.
Another point of difference between ancient and modern
warfare is found in regard to the vanquished. In Sparta and
other Greek states, it was an inviolable law never to fly nor to
surrender.* All prisoners taken were enslaved by the conqueror
and those who escaped were banished or degraded; so that the
only alternative placed before a defeated army was death or
disgrace. The vanquished now lay down their arms and sur-
render.
The part which Illinois took in the war of the rebellion was
* Rollin's "History of Greece," II, 435.
734 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
no less patriotic than glorious. As has already been shown, in
the enlistment of volunteers, the State was nearly always in
advance of the quota allotted to her by the general government.
No draft was found necessary in 1863; only 3538 men had to
be secured by the compulsory process in 1864; and but 55
citizens purchased exemption by commutation, a smaller num-
ber than in any other state except Kansas.
The accounts of Illinois of quotas required and men fur-
nished differed very considerably from those of the United
States, as is shown by the annexed table:
/
QUOTAS.
N , FURNISHED. s
YEAR.
STATE ACCOUNT.
u.-s.
STATE ACCOUNT. U.-S.
1 861
47,785
April -
4,683
74,160
86,772
May, July
47,785
1862
32,685
July
26,148
62,IO8
58,089
August
26,148
4,373
4,696
1863-4 64,833
64,833
3,445
28,818
1864
(militia)
2O.OOO
38,428
25,055
1864
52,057
July -
21,997
16,082
11,328
December
32,902
15,465
1865
34,128
27,996
28,324
231,488 244,496 226,592 285,147
According to the regimental returns in the adjutant-general's
office, the number was:
151 9/10 regiments of infantry, 185,941
17 regiments of cavalry, and 32,082
2 4/5 regiments of artillery, 7,277 225,300
The United - States account gives 157 infantry regiments,
which includes the first six mustered out in July and reenlisted.
Reducing the aggregate to a three years' standard, the num-
ber of men furnished by the State, according to the Federal
statement, was 214,133. The foregoing table of volunteers
from the different states places Illinois in the proud position of
having furnished a greater number, in proportion to the popula-
tion of 1860, than any other state in the Union except Kansas,
QUOTAS AND TROOPS FURNISHED BY EACH COUNTY. 735
which, being a new state, had a preponderance of male inhabi-
tants of military age.
POPULATION, QUOTA, TROOPS FURNISHED, BOUNTIES AND WAR EXPENSES
PAID BY EACH COUNTY OF ILLINOIS DURING THE WAR OF REBELLION:
COUNTY
Adams,
Alexander,
Bond,
Boone, .
Brown,
Bureau,
Calhoun,
Carroll,
Cass,
Champaign, _
Christian, .
Clark, .
Clay,
Clinton,
Coles,
Cook, .
Crawford, .
Cumberland, .
DeKalb, .
DeWitt,
Douglas, .
DuPage,
Edgar,
Edwards,
Effingham,
Fayette,
Ford,
Franklin,
Fulton,
Gallatin,
Greene,
Grundy,
Hamilton,
Hancock,
Hardin,
Henderson, .
Henry,
Iroquois,
Jackson,
Jasper,
Jefferson, _
POPULATION
IN i860
- 41,144
4,652
- 9,767
11,670
- 9,919
26,415
- 5,143
11,718
- ",3I3
14,581
- 10,475
14,948
- 9,309
10,729
- 14,174
143,947
- ",529
8,309
- 19,079
10,814
- 7,109
14,696
. 16,888
- 5,379
- 7,805
11,146
- i,979
- 9,367
- 33,289
7,629
. 16,067
10,372
- 9,849
29,041
- 3,704
9,499
. 20,658
12,285
- 9,56o
8,350
- 12,931
TOTAL
QUOTA
5,499
1,526
1,161
1,316
1,213
3,598
571
1,556
1,369
2,222
1,449
1,566
1,462
1,388
2,728
24,069
1,313
9l8
2,392
1,503
1,177
1,531
2,372
619
1,191
1,667
272
1,259
3,850
1,358
1,999
1,364
1,293
3,5o6
56i
1,413
3,H7
1,730
i,45i
930
M34
TOTAL
CREDIT
5,173
1,358
1,148
i,337
1,215
3,626
528
1,498
1,312
2,276
1,369
1,560
1,482
i,332
2,741
22,436
1,323
920
2,39i
1,522
i,i75
1,524
2,312
625
1,202
1,629
271
1,241
3,739
1,362
1,940
1,343
1,226
3,272
569
1,330
3,077
1,769
1,422
948
i,330
T T>n
DEFICIT
326
1 68
13
43
58
57
80
6
EXCESS
COUNTIES'
EXPENSES
$80,920
21
2
28
30,353
52,800
797,971
346,600
54
20
13
10
2
19
228,010
6O,OOO
172.326
56
2,347
1,633
2,901,455
71,840
8,151
408,195
i
2
7
60
38
i
18
in
254,529
6
ii
15,972
28,602
9,502
86,288
4
152,883
59
21
67
234
6,845
163,539
174,309
8
39
83
70
29
108,467
322,766
8,912
18
104
7in
i,555
736
ILLINOIS H
ISTORL
COUNTY
POPULATION
TOTAL
IN i860
QUOTA
JoDaviess,
- 27,147
2,76l
Johnson,
9,306
1,423
Kane,
- 30,024
3,872
Kankakee,
15,393
1,839
Kendall, .
- 13,073
1,555
Knox, .
28,512
3,842
Lake,
. 18,248
1,897
LaSalle,
48,272
6,i37
Lawrence, .
8,976
1,234
Lee, .
17,643
2,454
Livingston,
. 11,632
i,733
Logan,
14,247
2,131
Macon,
- 13,655
2,133
Macoupin,
24,504
3,209
Madison, .
. 30,689
4,300
Marion,
. 12,730
1,946
Marshall,
13,437
i, 812
Mason,
- 10,929
1,534
Massac,
6,101
967
McDonough,
. 20,061
2,737
McHenry,
22,085
2,536
McLean, .
. 28,580
4,189
Menard,
9,577
i, 216
Mercer,
- 15,037
1,862
Monroe,
12,815
1,180
Montgomery,
- 13,881
1,761
Morgan,
21,937
2,780
Moultrie, .
- 6,384
773
Ogle, .
22,863
2,989
Peoria,
- 36,475
5,193
Perry, .
9,5o8
1,482
Piatt,
6,124
1,051
Pike, .
27,182
3,221
Pope,
- 6,546
1,252
Pulaski,
3,904
833
Putnam,
- 5,579
707
Randolph,
16,766
2,066
Richland, _
- 9,709
1,523
Rock Island,
20,981
2,603
Saline,
- 9,i6i
1,285
Sangamon,
31,963
4,926
Schuyler, .
. 14,670
1,655
Scott, .
9,047
1, 206
Shelby,
- 14,590
2,121
Stark, .
9,003
1,134
St. Clair, .
- 37,i69
4,400
Stephenson,
25,112
3,156
TOTAL
CREDIT
2,513
1,426
3,873
1,764
3^37
1,890
5,942
1,230
2,446
i,743
2,160
2,189
3,184
4,221
1,954
i,797
'880
2,734
2,533
4,349
1,225
1,848
1,227
1,620
2,732
2,953
4,907
1,468
1,055
3,i32
1,253
707
2,099
i,577
2,473
1,280
5,oio
1,212
DEFICIT EXCESS
248
75
4
5
7
195
4
8
79
15
3
87
3
3
14
141
48
36
286
89
1,084
4,396
3,168
5
85
So
4
29
56
25
8
160
9
47
33
54
84
6
12
COUNTIES
EXPENSES
366,867
199,289
239,065
41,608
279,362
543,061
3,879
661,335
279,847
6,950
220,692
2O4,O47
82,897
179,459
651,937
488,986
153,6"
I26.OI6
44,583
2,195
421,318
327,615
16,816
23,382
97,005
3,639
8,539
5,900
140,451
10,784
40,167
28,460
291,309
470,171
BATTLE OF BELMONT.
737
IN i860
21,427
11,145
19.779
7,233
18,293
13,725
12,222
12,274
18,729
29,264
12,087
24,457
I3,28l
QUOTA
2,723
1,836
2,589
795
2,477
1,786
1,611
1,981
2,539
3,738
1,578
3,162
i,655
CREDIT
2,7OO
1,846
2,596
707
2,455
1,744
1,613
1,984
2,535
3,696
i,575
3,187
1,643
DEFICIT
23
EXCESS
10
7
2
3
25
EXPENSES
482,651
88
22
4 2
31,277
4,209
34,247
4
42
3
12
547,937
286,621
500,002
101,661
^04,327
231,488
226,592
5,715
819
$15,307,074
Tazewell, .
Union,
Vermilion,
Wabash,
Warren,
Washington,
Wayne,
White,
Whiteside, .
Will,
Williamson, .
Winnebago,
Woodford,
Total
Nearly all the Illinois regiments were employed in the South
and Southwest. Wherever the heaviest fighting was to be done,
there were found the brave men from the Prairie State the
first in the deadly charge and the last to retreat or surrender.
The first battle in which any considerable number of Illinois
troops were engaged was that of Belmont, Nov. 7, 1861, under
Gen. Grant. All the troops engaged were from Illinois except
the 7th Iowa. Gen. John A. McClernand commanded a brigade,
as did Col. Henry Doughtery, of the 22d regiment, who was
severely wounded and captured. The losses were as follows :
COMMANDER
KILLED WOUN'D MISSING TOTAL
23
74
37
134
- II
42
28
81
8
27
8
44
- 10
61
18
89
or,
5
5
US, I
2
3
22d, Lt.-Col. Harrison E. Hart,
27th, Col. Napoleon B. Buford, -
30th, Col. Philip B. Fouke, -
3 ist, Col. John A. Logan, -
Battery B, 1st Artillery, Capt. Ezra Taylor,
2d Cavalry, Capt. J. J. Dollius,
At the battle of Fort Donelson, Feb. 15, 1862, the first signal
success of the war, the commander-in-chief, Gen. Grant; Gen.
McClernand who commanded the first division; 7 command-
ers of brigades, namely: Cols. Wm. H. L. Wallace, Richard J.
Oglesby, Wm. R. Morrison wounded, Leonard F. Ross, John
McArthur, John Cook, and Isham N. Haynie; and Chief-of-staff
Col. J. D. Webster, were from Illinois; as were also 19 of the 36
infantry regiments engaged ; besides batteries B Taylor's, and
738 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
D McAllister's of the ist, and D Dresser's and E Schwartz's
of the 2d Illinois Artillery; and 4 companies of the 2d Col.
Silas Noble, and the 4th Col.T.L. Dickey Cavalry, and Birge's
Sharpshooters. Of the six regiments which sustained the
greatest losses in killed and wounded, five were from the same
State, as follows:
REGIMENT COMMANDER KILLED WOUN'D MISSING TOTAL
nth, Lt.-Col. Thomas E. G. Ransom, 70 182 75 327
8th, Lt.-Col. Frank L. Rhoads, 54 188 242
i8th, Col. Michael K. Lawler, wounded, 53 157 18 228
., (Col. Augustus Mersy, } ,- ,-
9 th 'tCapt. SB. Marks, } 3 6 165 9 210
3 ist, Col. John A. Logan, wounded, 31 117 28 176
The other Illinois regiments which lost heavily were:
1 2th, Lt.-Col. Augustus Louis Chetlain, 19 62 8 89
1 7th, Maj. Francis M. Smith, . 13 61 7 81
20th, Col. C. Carroll Marsh, . 18 108 6 132
29th, Col. James Reardon, _ 25 61 13 99
3<Dth, Lt.-Col. Elias S. Dennis, . 19 69 6 94
41 st, Col. Isaac C. Pugh, . 14 113 3 130
49th, Lt-Col. Phineas Pease, . 15 44 12 71
Other Illinois losses were:
7th, Lt.-Col. Andrew J. Babcock, 3 19 22
45th, Col. John E. Smith, . 2 20 22
46th, Col. John A. Davis, - 3 3
48th, Lt.-Col. Thomas H. Smith, killed, 8 31 3 42
5Oth, Col. Moses M. Bane, . 12 12
57th, Col. Silas D. Baldwin, . I i
58th, Col. William F. Lynch, . 5 12 17
Lt.-Cols. Wm. Irwin of the 2Oth, and John H. White of the
3 ist Illinois were killed while bravely leading their men.
Then came the news from the wilds of Arkansas where the
troops from Illinois had been gloriously engaged in the hotly-
contested battle of Pea Ridge, March 6, 7, 8, 1862; and where
Col. Eugene A. Carr commanded a division, and Cols. Julius
White and Nicholas Greusel, all from Illinois, brigades. Among
BATTLE OF SHILOH. 739
the regiments which suffered the greatest losses were the
following from that State:
REGIMENT COMMANDER KILLED WOUN*D MISSING TOTAL
25th, Col. William N. Coler,
35th, Col. Gustavus A. Smith,
4
14
17
47
3
52
24
H3
36th, Capt. Silas Miller, -
4
37
27
68
37th
, Lt.-Col.
Myron
S. Barnes,
20
121
3
144
59th
, Lt.-Col.
C. H. Frederick,
9
57
66
3d,
Cavalry, -|
Major John McConnell,
Major James M. Ruggles,
}
9
36
13
58
In the sanguinary and stubborn conflict of Shiloh, April 6-7,
1862, the commander-in-chief, and 4 of the 5 division-com-
manders, on the first day, when the greatest losses were sus-
tained, namely, Gens. McClernand, Wm. H. L.Wallace mortally
wounded, Stephen A. Hurlbut, and Benj. M. Prentiss captured;
and nine commanders of brigades, namely, Brig.-Gen. John Me
Arthur, Colonels C. C. Marsh, Julius Raith mortally wounded,
Edward N. Kirk wounded, Thomas W. Sweeney wounded,
David Stuart wounded, Isaac C. Pugh, Silas D. Baldwin, and
Lt.-Col. Enos P. Wood, were from Illinois; also 27 of the 65
infantry regiments,* and 10 batteries out of 27 engaged, and por-
tions of the 2d, 4th, and nth cavalry. Of the 14 regiments
which suffered the most, 8 were from the same State, as follows :f
REGIMENT COMMANDER KILLED WOUN'D MISSING TOTAL
9th, Col. August Mersy, . 61 300 5 366
55th, Lt.-Col. Oscar Malmborg, . 51 197 27 275
28th, Col. Amory K. Johnson, . 29 211 5 245
4Oth, Col. Stephen G. Hicks, . 47 160 9 216
45th, Col. John E. Smith, . 23 187 3 213
43d, Lt.-Col. Adolph Engelmann, 50 118 29 197
( Col. Edward F. Ellis, killed, )
I5thx Maj. Wm. G. Goddard, killed, J- 49 117 166
( Capt. Louis D. Kelley, J
,, / Col. Cyrus Hall, ) "*''*
'4 th ' JLt-Col. William Cam, j 35 126 4 165
* The others being from Missouri 5; Iowa II; Ohio 10; Indiana 3; Kentucky 2;
Wisconsin 3; Michigan 2.
+ It should be farther noted that of the 2830 prisoners captured by the enemy,
only 401 were from Illinois.
740 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The losses of other Illinois regiments, every one of which
participated in the fiery struggle, though not so large, were
severe :
KEGIMENT COMMANDER KILLED WOUN'D MISSING TOTAL
7th, Major Richard Rowett, . 17 8 1 i 99
|" Capt. Jas. M. Ashmore, wounded, J
8th, K Capt. William H. Harvey, killed, > 30 91 3 124
(. Capt. Robert H. Sturgiss, )
nth, Lt-Col. Thomas E. G. Ransom, 17 69 17 101
f , f Lt-Col. Augustus Louis Chetlain, 1 ,-
m > I Maj. James R. Hugunin, 2nd day, i 2
I7th, Lt-Col. Enos P. Wood, 15 118 5 138
I8th j Capt. Daniel H. Brush, wounUj 17 68 2 87
' ( Capt. J. J. Anderson, j '
2Oth, Lt.-Col. Evan Richards, tvounded, 22 107 7 136
29th, Lt.-Col. Charles M. Ferrill, _ 12 73 4 89
32d, Col. John A. Logan, _ 39 114 5 158
*< 3 97
48th, Col. Isham N. Haynie, . 18112 3 133
49th, Lt.-Col. Phineas Pease, . 19 83 8 no
5oth, Col. Moses M. Bane, . 12 68 4 84
C2d J Maj. Henry Stark, )
2d ' \ Capt. Edwin A. Bowen, J 23
., ( Col. Silas D. Baldwin, ist day, )
57 th ' { Lt-Col. Frederick J. Hurlbut, ( 2 5 no 3 138
^o*.u \ Col. William F. Lynch, )
5 8th ' J Capt. R, W. Healy, \ - 2O 47 223 290
6 ist, Col. Jacob Fry, . _ 12 45 1 8 75
Birge's Sharpshooters, ... 26 8
The 34th Illinois, of Buell's army, Major Charles Levenway,
killed, succeeded by Capt. Hiram W. Bristol, took part in the
second day's battle and met with a loss of 15 killed and 112
wounded.
The battle of Corinth, October 3 and 4, 1862, though not so
large in the numbers engaged, was nearly equal in destructive
results with those of the most sanguinary. Six of the com-
manders of brigades, namely, Gens. Oglesby severely wounded,
CORINTH AND PERRYVILLE. 741
McArthur wounded, and Buford, and Cols. Sweeney, Mersy,
and Baldwin wounded, belonged to Illinois, as did 10 out of the
44 infantry regiments engaged. The losses sustained by these
troops were heavy, as will be seen in the following table:
REGIMENT COMMANDER KILLED WOUN*D MISSING TOTAL
7th, Col. A. J. Babcock, 9 45 23 77
9th, Col. Augustus Mersy, n 82 55 148
1 2th, Col. Augustus L. Chetlain, - 15 79 15 109
26th, Major Robert A. Gilmore, - 2 n 13
C Lt.-Col. Wm. A. Thrush, killed, ^
47th, K Capt. Harmon Andrews, killed, ^19 79 10 108
tCapt. Samuel R. Baker, J
5oth, Lt-Col. William Swarthout, - 5 26 '31
52d, Lt.-Col. John S. Wilcox, 6 63 i 70
56th, Lt.-Col. Green B. Raum, * 732 39
., ( Lt-Col. F. J. Hurlbut, )
57 th ' I Major Eric Forsse, i 7 44 23 74
58th, Detachment, - 2 n 6 19
64th, Capt. John Morrill, - n 44 15 70
The 7th and nth Illinois cavalry were also engaged in this
battle, meeting with a total loss of 14.
In the battle of Perryville, Kentucky, Oct. 8, 1862, Colonels
William P. Carlin and Nicholas Greusel commanded brigades.
Nine Illinois regiments were actively engaged and generally
sustained heavy losses, as follows:
REGIMENT COMMANDER KILLED WOUN*D MISSING TOTAL
24th, Capt. August Mauff, - 28 79 8 115
36th, Col. Nicholas Greusel, - 9 64 4 77
59th, Major Joshua C. Winters, - 25 59 29 113
75th, Lt-Col. John E. Bennett, - 46 167 12 225
8oth, Col. Thomas G. Allen, 11 45 -56
8sth, Col. Robert S. Moore, - .5 38 9 52
86th, Col. David D. Irons, - I 14 15
88th, Col. Francis T. Sherman, - - 9 36 45
I23d, Col. James Monroe, - 35 119 35 189
At the battle of Stone's River, Dec. 31, 1862 to Jan. 2, 1863,
Gen. John M. Palmer was in command of a division and Generals
Edward N. Kirk mortally wounded, Jas. D. Morgan, and Cols.
742 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
William P. Carlin, P. Sidney Post, Nicholas Greusel, and George
W. Roberts killed, were in command of brigades. Out of the
1 06 volunteer regiments engaged 24 were from Illinois;* and of
the 17. regiments whose casualty lists were the largest, six were
from this State, as follows:
REGIMENT COMMANDER KILLED WOUN*D MISSING TOTAL
I Col. John W. S. Alexander, j g
st ' j Lieut-Col. Warren E. Mackin, \ 57
-6th / Ma J' Silas Miller wounded, ) g
j6th ' I Capt. Porter C. Olson, j
84th, Col. Louis H. Waters, . 35 124 8 167
38th, Lt.-Col. Daniel H. Gilmer, . 34 109 34 177
44th, Capt. Wallace W. Barrett, 29 109 17 155
22d, { Lt-Col. Francis Swanwick, | g g
\ Capt Samuel Johnson, j
The losses in the other Illinois regiments, all of which were
in the thickest of the fight except the 24th, 4 wounded, and
the 8 $th no loss reported were:
REGIMENT COMMANDER KILLED WOUN*D MISSING TOTAL
roth f Col. Jos. R. Scott, mortally wou'd.) g R
I9th ' I Lt-Col. Alexander W. Raffen, j I4
C Col. Thomas D. Williams, killed, ") -
25th, -j Maj. Richard H. Nodine, Vi6 75 5 96
(. Capt. Westford Taggart, J
., f Col. Fazillo A. Harrington. killed, 1 ~
2 ? th ' { Maj. William A. Schmidt, } 9 69 24 103
f Lt-Col. Hiram W. Bristol,
Maj. Alexander P. Dysart, 2I IO
35th, Lt-Col. William P. Chandler, 10 51 25
42d, Lt.-Col. Nathan H. Walworth, 19 96 46
( Col. Luther P. Bradley, )
st ' I Capt. Henry F. Wescott, \
59th, Capt. Hendrick E. Paine, 7 43 30
73d, Maj. William A. Presson, . 16 64 8
74th, Col. Jason Marsh, _ 8 35 42
75th, Lt.-Col. John E. Bennett, . 2 21 59
7Qth ' Sheridan P - Read > ' 2A 7 , ! 2A
79th ' I Maj. Allen Buckner, j 24 7I I24 2I 9
* Ohio being represented by 29; Indiana 25; Kentucky II; Wisconsin 5; Michigan
4; Pennsylvania 3; Tennessee 3; Missouri 2.
BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA. 743
REGIMENT COMMANDER KILLED WOUN*D MISSING TOTAL
88th, Col. Francis T. Sherman, 14 50 48 112
Sgth, Lt.-Col. Chas. Truman Hotchkiss, 10 46 94 150
looth, Lt-Col. Frederick A. Bartleson, 7 39 46
iioth, Col. Thomas S. Casey, . 7 49 2 58
At the two days' bloody conflict of Chickamauga, Sept. 19-
20, 1863, Illinois was represented by two commanders of divi-
sions, namely, Maj.-Gen. John M. Palmer and Brig.-Gen. James
D. Morgan; 7 commanders of brigades, namely, Generals John
Basil Turchin, William P. Carlin, and Colonels P. Sydney Post,
Silas Miller, Robert F. Smith, Luther P. Bradley, wounded, and
Nathan H. Walworth; among the staff-officers was Major Johr
C. Smith of the 96th Illinois, since lieutenant-governor of the
State, serving with Gen. Jas. B. Steedman; and by 28 infantry
regiments.* Of the 20 regiments which met with the greatest
loss, 5 of them were from Illinois, namely:
REGIMENT COMMANDER KILLED WOUN'D MISSING TOTAL
96th, Col. Thomas E. Champion, 39 134 52 225
/ Col. John W.S.Alexander, killed, ~) fi ~
2Ist ' \ Capt. Chester K. Knight, J 32
,,, ( Maj. Samuel D. Wall, )
2 * th > | Capt. Westford Taggart, } 2 4 2O *
ii5th, Col. Jesse H. Moore, . 22 151 10 183
35th, Lt-Col. William P. Chandler, 17 130 13 160
The losses of the other Illinois regiments engaged, nearly
all of them severe, were as follows:
REGIMENT COMMANDER KILLED WOUN*D MISSING TOTAL
. , ( Lt-Col. Alexander W. Raffen, \ ,
I9th ' \Capt. Presley Neville Guthrie, } ]
22d, Lt.-Col. Francis Swanwick, 23 76 31 130
24th, j ^ Ol : G * za Mihalotzy wounded, j 6
' I Maj. George A. Guenther, n \
27th, Lt.-Col. Jonathan R. Miles, 2 79 10 91
,.., f Col. Silas Miller, \
36th > { Lt-Col. Porter C. Olson, j 2O ^
/ Co1 - Daniel H - Gilmer, killed, \ q 9
1 Capt. Willis G. Whitehurst, ]
* Ohio was represented by 44; Indiana 26; Kentucky 15; Wisconsin 7; Michigan
6; Pennsylvania 4; Tennessee and Missouri 2 each; Minnesota and Kansas I each.
744 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
REGIMENT COMMANDER KILLED WOUN*D MISSING TOTAL
, J Col. Nathan H. Walworth, \
42d ' { Lt.-Col. John A. Hottenstein, j
44th, Lt.-Col. Wallace W. Barrett, 6 60 34 100
5 ist, Lt-Col. Samuel B. Raymond, 18 92 18 128
73d, Col. James F. Jaquess, 13 57 22 92
79th, Col. Allen Buckner, _ 3 21 97 121
84th, Col. Louis H. Waters, . 13 83 9 105
85th, Col. Caleb J. Dilworth, . *
86th, Lt.-Col. David W. Magee, .141 6
88th, Lt.-Col. Alexander S.Chadbourne, 12 62 14 88
{Col. Charles Truman Hotchkiss, ")
Lt.-Col. Duncan J. Hall, killed, [-14 88 30 132
Maj. William D. Williams, J
92d, Col. Smith D. Atkins, . 2 22 2 26
^P., f Col. John J. Funkhouser, \ ,-
98th ' | Lt.-Col. Edward Kitchell, j
rnorh J Col> Frederick A> BartleSOn ' 1 ?? TT7 <>A ^^A
th ' 1 Maj. Charles M. Hammond, /
iO4th, Lt.-Col. Douglas Hapeman, 2 46 16 64
1 23d, Col. James Monroe, . i 13 10 24
1 25th, Col. Oscar F. Harmon, _ *
At the battle of Missionary Ridge, Nov. 25, 1863, Gen. John
M. Palmer commanded the I4th corps, Gen. John E. Smith a
division, and Generals Morgan, Turchin, Carlin, Giles A. Smith,
and Colonels Hecker, Loomis, Silas Miller, Francis T. Sherman,
Walworth, Raum, and Tupper, brigades; 38 Illinois regiments
were engaged, 6 of which were among the heaviest losers, viz.'.
REGIMENT COMMANDER KILLED WOUN'D MISSING TOTAL
h \ Col. Timothy O'Meara, killed, \
90tn, < T r , n . WAn c fl .,H. 10 94 13 117
Lt-Col. Owen Stuart,
26th, Col. Robert A. Gilmore, _ 10 82 i 93
iO3d, Col. Willard A. Dickerman, 15 74 89
, ( Col. Holden Putnam, killed, ) ..-
93 d ' { Lt-Col. Nicholas C. Busweil, | 2 46 27
25th, Col. Richard H. Nodine, . 9 58 67
27th, Col. Jonathan R. Miles, . 8 70 78
* Losses not reported.
BATTLE OF MISSIONARY RIDGE. 745
In all these statements of casualties, at this time it must be
remembered that nearly every regiment had become much de-
pleted in numbers in consequence of formei losses. For instance,
in the reports of this battle, it appears that the iQth had only
195 officers and men; the 25th, 260; the 59th, 286; the 75th,
266; the 84th, 305; and the 96th, 272.
The other Illinois regiments, all hotly engaged in achieving
this great victory or in its attending conflicts, met with the
following serious losses:
REGIMENT COMMANDER KILLED WOUN*D MISSING TOTAL
{Lt.-Col. Frederick W. Partridge, ^ wounded,
Maj. Douglas Bushnell, killed, |- 4 58 I 63
Capt. George P. Brown, J
1 9th, Lt.-Col. Alexander W. Raffen, 2 24 26
22d, Lt.-Col. Francis Swanwick, 3 16 19
35th, Lt.-Col. William P. Chandler, 6 48 54
36th, Lt-Col. Porter C. Olson, . 3 26 29
40th, Maj. Hiram W. Hall, . 7 43 i 50
42d, Capt. Edgar D. Swain, . 5 46 51
44th, Col. Wallace W. Barrett, 3 18 21
\ Maj. Charles W. Davis, wounded, \
st ' } Capt. Albert M. Tilton, \ 2
56th, Maj. Pinckney J. Welch, wounded, I 18 19
59th, Maj. Clayton Hale, . i 17 18
5 Co1 ' J ames R J a( l uess >
I Maj. Jas. I. Davidson, wounded,
74th, Col. Jason Marsh, _ 3 46 49
78th, Lt.-Col. Carter VanVleck, _ i 4 5
79th, Col. Allen Buckner, . 25 7
8oth, Capt. James Neville, _ 7 7
82d, Lt.-Col. Edward S. Salomon, i i 2
88th, Lt.-Col. George W. Chandler, 5 46 51
89th, Lt.-Col. William D. Williams, 4 30 34
/^u ( Col. Thomas E. Champion, )
o6th, ] T., . r TJ- 1 i 14 i?
' I Maj. George Hicks, )
looth, Maj. Charles M. Hammond, 131 32
iO4th, Col. Douglas Hapeman, - 4 17 21
The following regiments being upon outpost duty, on special
details, or held in reserve, suffered but slightly; namely: the
48
746 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
loth, 34th, 55th, /5th, 8oth, 84th, 85th, 86th, 98th, icist, ii6th,
1 25th, and 12/th.
In the various engagements during the decisive campaign
against Vicksburg under Gen. Grant, Gen. McClernand com-
manded a corps, Gens. John A. Logan and Eugene A. Carr,
divisions, and Gens. Lawler, John E. Smith, McArthur, Wm.
W. Orme, Elias S. Dennis, and Colonels Loomis, Hicks, Pugh,
Cyrus Hall, A. K. Johnson, A. Engleman, Raum, Putnam, D.
Stuart, and W. W. Sanford, brigades. The following are some
of the heaviest regimental losses:
REGIMENT COMMANDER KILLED WOUN'd MISS'G TOTAL
1 3th, Col. John B. Wyman, Chick k a l ^' Bayou> 27 107 39 173
2Oth, L.-Col. Evan Richards, killed, Raymond, 17 68 I 86
55th, Col. Oscar Malmborg, - 10 58 68
93d, Col. HoldenPutnam, Champion's Hill 38 113 n 162
nth, Lt.-Col. Garrett Nevins, killed,* 3 42 9 53
, 2f1 J Col. John Logan, )
32d ' / Lt.-Col. William Hunter, \
72d, Col. Frederick A. Starring, - 20 71 5 96
Col. David P. Grier, ) 19 85 26 130
Lt-Col. James C. Wright, mortally \ wounded,
Col. Jas. J. Dollins, killed, - n 96 107
Col. Thomas W. Humphrey, - 18 83 8 109
Col. Geo. W. K. Bailey, wounded, )
Lt-Col. Lemuel Parke, ' { '9 77 *
\ ' r S " ' I 7 20
j Maj. George R. Clarke, /
,,, ( Col. N. W. Tupper, )
Il6th 'lLt,Col.JamesP.Boyd, \ 6 64 I 71
I27th, Col. H. N. Eldridge, 8 31 i 40
The following table exhibits the casualties sustained by the
Illinois regiments in other famous battles of the war. It must
be remembered, however, that the killed and wounded in any
given contest, or as relating to any given regiment, is not always
to be relied upon as evidence of its superior bravery or effi-
ciency. The losses may have resulted from the bad handling
by incompetent or rash commanders, unnecessarily exposing
* The losses in the nth, 32d, yad, 77th, 8ist, 95th, ggth, 113th, Ii6th, and
respectively, were caused in the assault on Vicksburg, May 22, 1863.
LOSSES IN OTHER FAMOUS BATTLES. 747
their commands, or failing to retire in time from untenable
positions. Other regiments by reason of having been detailed
to guard posts, or railroad lines, or placed on other detached
service, where they rendered efficient and important aid to the
cause, oftentimes had not the opportunity of showing what
they could do in a regular-pitched battle.
Losses of Illinois regiments in other battles:
REGIMENT COMMANDER BATTLE KILI/D WOU'D MIS'G TOTAL
7th, Col. Richard Rowett, Allatoona, 35 67 39 141
I2th, Capt. Robt. Koehler, Allatoona Pass, 17 33 I 51
28th, Col. Amory K. Johnson, j Hatchie > '3 91 2 196
I Jackson, 6 43 19 68
30th, Col. Warren Shedd, Atlanta, 24 82 80 186
3ist, Col. Edwin S. McCook, Atlanta, 28 94 41 163
34th, Lt.-Col. Oscar Van Tassel, Bentonville, 8 28 36
36th, Lt-Col. Peter C.Olson, killed, Franklin, 6 35 21 62
c Drury's Bluff, II 64 47 122
39th, Lt.-Col. O. L. Mann, -j Petersburg, 15 72 87
I Deep Bottom, 20 76 7 103
4ist, Maj. Francis M. Long, killed, Jackson, 27 135 40 202
42d, Col.EdgarD. Swain, Spring Hill, Tenn. 16 64 20 100
5 1st, Cpl. Charles W. Davis, Franklin, n 45 98 154
, ( Capt. John W. McClanahan, Hatchie, 9 49 58
53 ' i Col. Seth C. Earl, killed, Jackson, 33 79 50 162
55th, Capt. Jacob M.Augustine, killed, Kenesaw, 14 33 47
58th, Lt.-Col. Robt. W. Healy, Ezra Chapel, 29 67 5 101
59th, Lt.-Col. Clayton Hale, Nashville, 8 83 9 100
( Col. John Morrill, Kenesaw, 19 41 60
64th J Col. John Morrill, wounded, j A , g
I Lt-C. Michael W. Manning, 1 1 lta> l7 * 7
( Lt.-Col. Jos. R. Stockton, ^ wounded,
72d, \ Maj. William James, V Franklin, 15 97 38 150
(. Capt. James A. Sexton, J
76th, Col. Samuel T. Bussey, Jackson, 16 71 15 102
78th, Col. Carter VanVleck, Jonesboro, 13 37 50
79th, Lt.-C.Maris Vernon, Liberty Gap, Tenn. 6 41 47
8oth, Lt. Herman Steinecke, Kenesaw, 16 38 9 63
{Col. Fred. Hecker, wounded, ") r , , .,,
Maj. Ferd.H.Rolshausen, wounded, ^ n [le '
Capt. Jacob LaSalle, J 29 88 38 155
748 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
REGIMENT COMMANDER BATTLE KILLED WOU'D MIS'G TOTAL
Col. A. C.Harding, attack Ft. Donelson, 13 51 64
Lt-Col. Allen L. Fahnestock, Kenesaw, 26 60 12 98
Col. Charles T. Hotchkiss, Picketts, 16 71 67 154
Col. Nicholas C. Buswell, Atlanta, 21 52 10 83
Col. Franklin C. Smith, Resaca, 24 70 94
Lt.-C. Geo. W. Wright, wn'd, Kenesaw, 23 42 2 67
c Col. A. B. Moore, captured, Hartsville, 25 131 568 724
I04th ' I Lt-Col. Douglas Hapeman, ^^ 16 29 5 5O
iiith, Maj. William H. Mabry, Atlanta, 1 8 75 86 179
T , f Knoxville, 1 8 38 12 68
H2th, Col. ThosJ. Henderson, [ '
t. Etoy Creek, 12 58 I 71
I22d, Col. John I. Rinaker, wounded,* 23 58 I 82
I25th, Col.OscarF. Harmon, killed, Kenesaw, 54 63 7 124
I29th, Lt.-C. Thos.H.Flynn, Peach Tree Creek, 9 30 6 45
Many subordinate, field, staff, and line officers, in addition to
those already mentioned, fell gallantly upon the field of battle.
In the present imperfect state of the war-records, it is impossible
to state them all but the following list, relating to field-officers
of infantry regiments, is supposed to be nearly complete:
REGIMENT NAME AND RANK OF OFFICER DIED OR WHEN KILLED
24th, Col. Geza Mihalotzy, March 11, 1864.
28th, Lt-Col. Thos. M. Killpatrick, At Shiloh.
30th, Maj. Thomas McClurken, At Belmont.
3ist, Lt-Col. John D. Reese, Of wounds, July I, 1863.
32d, Lt-Col. John W. Ross, Of wounds received at Shiloh.
35th, Maj. John Mcllwain, Near Kenesaw, 1864.
36th, Col. Silas Miller, Mortally wounded at Kenesaw, 1864.
, j Lt-Col. Rigdon S. Barnhill, In battle, June 27, 1864.
4 'I Maj. Francis M. Long, In battle, July 12, 1863.
j Maj. James Leighton, In battle, Sept. 2, 1863.
4 ' t Maj. David W. Norton, In battle, June 2, 1864.
c Lt.-Col. Melancthon Smith, In battle, June 25, 1863.
45th, -j Maj. Luther N. Cowan, In battle, May 22, 1863.
I Maj. Leander B. Fisk, In battle, June 25, 1863.
46th, Col. John A. Davis, Mortally wounded at Hatchie.
I Col. John M. Cromwell, At Jackson, May, 1863.
47 ' \ Lt.-Col. David L. Miles, At Farmington.
* Engagement at Parker's Cross-Road.
THE ROLL OF HONOR. 749
RBGIMRMT NAME AND RANK OF OFFICER DIED OR WHEN KILLED
48th, Col. Lucien Greathouse, In battle, July 22, 1864.
57th, Maj. Norman B. Page, At Shiloh.
66th, Col. Patrick E. Burke, Of wounds at Resaca.
, f Maj. Wm. E. Smith, At Chickamauga.
1 Maj. Thomas Motherspaw, Of wounds, Dec. 18, 1864.
74th, Lt.-Col. James B. Kerr, Of wounds at Atlanta.
77th, Lt.-Col. Lysander R. Webb, In battle, April 8, 1864.
78th, Maj. William L. Broddus, At Chickamauga.
88th, Lt-Col. George W. Chandler, At Atlanta.
95th, Col. Thomas W. Humphrey, In battle, June 10, 1864.
96th, Lt.-Col. Isaac L. Clark, In battle, Sept. 20, 1863.
looth, Col. Frederick A. Bartleson, At Kenesaw.
losd, Col. Willliam A. Dickerman, At Resaca.
iO7th, Col. Francis H. Lowry, Mortally wounded at Franklin.
1 1 5th, Lt-Col. William Kinnan, At Chickamauga.
n6th, Lt.-Col. Anderson From an, Of wounds, June 15, 1864.
I23d, Col. James Monroe, At Farmington.
I25th, Col. Oscar F. Harmon, At. Kenesaw.
Col'd infantry, Col. John A. Bross, At Petersburg.
The gth Infantry lost the most men killed in action of any
other Illinois regiment. As shown before, it lost at the battle
of Fort Donelson, 36 killed, 165 wounded, and 9 missing a total
of 2 10. The same regiment lost at Shiloh, 61 killed, 300 wounded,
and 5 missing a total of 366. That a new regiment should
lose in less than 50 days 577 men is one of the most remark-
able events in the annals of war especially when the fact is
taken into the account that this was done in the wilds ot
Southern forests and swamps and only 14 of the number
missing. This regiment was commanded most of the time by
Colonels August Mersy and Jesse J. Phillips; who, at different
times, also commanded brigades or divisions and were fre-
quently wounded, but although confessedly among the most
gallant officers of the service were never promoted brigadier-
generals.
The following organizations served in the departments of
the East, namely, the 23d, 39th, and 82d infantry, and the 8th
and 1 2th cavalry. The 8th suffered the heaviest loss in killed
and wounded of any Illinois cavalry regiment. From its ranks
750 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
came the gallant Elon J. Farnsworth whose commission as a
brigadier- general bore the date of his heroic death at Gettys-
burg.
The rough and heavily-timbered country in the South, where
nearly all the cavalry regiments principally served did not
afford much scope for use in large bodies and close righting.
They performed, however, very efficient and valuable service in
scouting and in various raids. Perhaps the most damaging of
the latter was that commanded by Gen. Grierson of Illinois
through the entire state of Mississippi and part of Louisiana,
during the Vicksburg campaign, performed solely by Illinois
regiments, namely, the 6th and 7th cavalry. Col. Dudley
Wickersham of the loth, performed distinguished services in
Missouri and Arkansas in command of a brigade, and as com-
mander of Fayetteville. Col. Benj. F. Marsh, jr., commanded
the 2d Cavalry after its consolidation in 1864, and rendered
conspicuous service.
Gen. John L. Beveridge, who was elected lieutenant-governor
of the State in 1872, and served the full term of four years as
governor, vice Gen. Oglesby elected to the senate, served at first
as a major in the 8th Cavalry, but was subsequently transferred
to and commissioned colonel of the I7th. This regiment was
ordered to Missouri, where it was kept busily employed in skir-
mishes and engagements, doing valiant service; Col. Beveridge
most of the time being in command of a brigade. The I2th,
under Col. Hasbrouck Davis, was engaged in some of the most
noted of the successful raids in Virginia.
Maj. Zenas Applington of the 7th, was killed near Corinth
in 1862; Lt.-Col. Harvey Hogg of the 2d cavalry, fell while
leading a charge at Bolivar, Aug. 29, 1862; Col. John J. Mudd,
of the same regiment, was killed on Red River, May 3, 1864;
Lt.-Col. William McCullough, 4th, was killed in battle, Dec. 5,
1862; Col. Matthew H. Starr, 6th, was mortally wounded, Octo-
ber, 1864; Lt.-Col. Reuben Loomis, 6th, killed, Nov. 2, 1863;
Lt.-Col. Wm. D. Blackburn, 7th, died of wounds, May 17, 1863;
Maj. William H. Medill, 8th, died of wounds, July 16, 1863;
Col. Warren Stewart, I5th, killed near Vicksburg, June 23, 1863;
and Maj. Frederick Schaumbeck, i6th cavalry, killed in action,
August 3, 1864.
GREATEST PERCENTAGE OF LOSSES. 75 1
The 1 6th cavalry lost the remarkable number of 157 men
who died in confederate prisons.*
In most or all of the engagements of which lists of the killed
and wounded are presented in this chapter, some one or more of
the Illinois artillery companies performed gallant and efficient
services, often stemming the tide of rebel charges and saving the
day. The heaviest loss in killed and mortally wounded of any
Illinois battery during the war was 15 each, in Wood's Battery
A and Houghtaling's C. These batteries, also lost the most in
particular engagements, the former at Shiloh, 4 killed and 26
wounded; the latter at Stone's River, 5 killed and 20 wounded.
Bridge's Battery at Chickamauga lost 6 killed, 16 wounded, and
4 missing. Taylor's Battery B was renowned all through the
South for its efficiency, and the same is true of the famous De
Cress's Battery of twenty- pound Parrot-guns, captured and
recaptured so bravely at Atlanta.*
The three infantry regiments which sustained the greatest nu-
merical losses in battles were the following: 5th New Hampshire,
1 8 officers, 277 men; the 83d Pennsylvania, u officers, 271 men;
the 7th Wisconsin, 10 officers, 271 men. Many other regiments
suffered nearly equal losses, that of the 9th Illinois, which heads
the list of this State, having 5 officers who were either killed or
died of wounds and 211 men; the 36th Illinois, with a loss of
n officers and 193 men, not being far behind.
The largest percentage of loss in killed and mortally wounded
in any infantry regiment was sustained by the 2d Wisconsin,
which, out of 1203 names enrolled, lost 238 or 19.7 per cent.
The 57th Massachusetts sustained the next heaviest percentage
of loss. The heaviest losers among Illinois regiments in killed
and mortally wounded were as follows: that of the 55th, I 5>
the 93d, 14.9; the 36th, 14.8; the 9th, 14.4; and several others
reaching to between 10 and 14 per cent.
The greatest percentage of killed, wounded, and missing, the
latter supposed to be killed or wounded, in any infantry regi-
ment in any single engagement, was that of the 1st Minnesota
at Gettysburg, where, out of 262 engaged, 47 were killed and
168 wounded, equal to 82 per cent. The I4ist Pennsylvania lost
* Tables containing the losses of all the Illinois cavalry regiments and batteries
will be found in the Appendix.
752 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
75.7 per cent in the same battle; the roist New York, 73.8 per
cent at Manassas. In a list, prepared by Lt-Col. William F.
Fox, of 62 regiments, which sustained a loss in particular
engagements of 50 per cent and over, were the following from
Illinois :
REG'T BATTLE ENGAGED KILLED WOUN'D MISSING PER cr
9th, Shiloh, . 578 61 300 5 63.3
5 ist, Chickamauga, . 209 18 92 18 61.2
4ist, Jackson, . 338 27 135 40 59.7
55th, Shiloh, . 512 51 197 27 53.7
35th, Chickamauga, 299 17 130 13 53.5
nth, Fort Donelson, 500 70 181 88 50.1
To which may be added the following:
22d, Stone's River, 342 43 94 56 60
34th, Stone's River, 354 36 85 74 55
53d, Jackson, . 219 33 79 50 74*
The following Illinois regiments participated in the celebrated
campaign of Gen. Sherman from Atlanta to the sea :{
REG'T COLONKJ. LT.-COLONEL MAJOR
7th, Richard Rowett, . Hector Perrin, _ Edward S. Johnson.
9th, . Samuel T. Hughes, William Padon.
loth, John Tillson, . David Gillespie, George A. Race.
12th, . Henry Van Sellar, Wheelock S. Merriman.
!f ' f George C. Rogers, Lemuel O. Gilman, Carlos C. Cox.
I 5 tn > )
1 6th, Robert F. Smith, James A. Chapman, Charles Petrie.
* The greatest percentage of confederate losses sustained in particular engagements
on the same authority were as follows :
REGIMENT BATTLE NO. ENGAGED KILLED WOUN'D MISSING PER CENT
1st Texas, Antietam, 226 45 141 82
2ist Georgia, - Manasses, . 242 38 146 76
26th North Carolina, Gettysburg, 820 86 502 1 71
1 120 missing, many of whom were supposed to have been killed.
6th Mississippi, Shiloh, . 425 61 239 70
8th Tennessee, Chickamauga, 328 44 1 80 68
and so on. According to the very imcomplete and imperfect confederate returns 42
regiments are reported to have lost from 50 to 82 per cent in single battles.
+ A table showing the name of the colonel of each regiment, date of organization,
strength, and date of final muster out, with name of officer then commanding and
strength; and also, in order that full justice may be done, a complete list of casual-
ties in each regiment, as prepared by Col. Fox in his "Regimental Losses," will be
found in the Appendix.
WITH SHERMAN TO THE SEA.
753
REG'T
2Oth,
26th,
30th,
3 ist,
3 2d
34th,
40th,
4ist,
45th,
48th,
Soth,
52d,
53d,
55th,
56th,
57th,
6oth,
63d,
64th,
66th,
78th,
82d,
85th,
86th,
9oth,
92d,
93d,
lOISt,
I02d,
iosd,
iO4th,
losth,
I loth,
i nth,
1 1 6th,
i25th,
I27th,
1 29th,
COLONEL
Daniel Bradley,
Warren Shedd,
"
"
Stephen G. Hicks,
Robert P. Sealy,
William Hanna,
John W. McClanahan,
Green B. Raum,
William B. Anderson,
Joseph B. McCown,
John Morrill,
Andrew K. Campbell,
Edward S. Salomon,
Caleb J. Dilworth,
Owen Stuart,
Smith D. Atkins,
Nicholas C. Buswell,
John B. LaSage,
Franklin C. Smith,
George W. Wright,
Douglas Hapeman, _
Daniel Dustin,
James S. Martin, .
Henry Case,
LT.-COLONEL
Ira J. Bloomfield,
William C. Rhodes,
Robert N. Pearson,
George H. English,
Peter Ege,
Hiram W. Hall,
Ashley T. Galbraith,
Jerome D. Davis,
John P. Hall,
Frederick J. Hurlbut,
George W. Evans,
James Isaminger,
Michael W. Manning,
Maris R. Vernon,
Allen L. Fahnestock,
Mathew VanBuskirk,
Isaac McManus,
Asias Willison,
Everell F. Dutton,
Ebenezer H. Topping,
Joseph F. Black, .
John E. Madux,
James W. Langley,
Frank S. Curtiss, .
Thomas H. Flynn,
MAJOR
George W. Kennard.
John B. Harris.
John P. Davis.
Henry Davidson.
Peter F. Walker.
R. H. McFadden.
John O. Duer.
Edward Adams.
Horace L. Burnham.
Albert C. Perry.
Roland H. Allison.
James P. Files.
Frederick A. Battey.
James H. McDonald.
Joseph F. Lemen.
Joseph S. Reynolds.
George Green.
Ferd H. Rolshanson.
Robert G. Rider.
Patrick Flynn.
Albert Woodcock.
James M. Fisher.
Napoleon B. Brown.
Hiland H. Clay.
Charles W. Wills.
John H. Widmer.
Henry D. Brown.
Green M. Cantrell.
William H. Mabry.
John S. Windsor.
John B. Lee.
Frank C. Gillette.
John A. Hoskins.
Artillery : ist Regiment Company C, Capt. Joseph R. Channel.
1st Regiment Company H, Capt. Francis DeGress.
2d Regiment Company I, Capt. Judson Rich.
Cavalry: nth Regiment Company G, Capt. Stephen S. Tripp.
In all, 45 regiments and 4 companies. "Adjutant-General's Report," I, 103.
The splendid record made by the volunteers from Illinois
could not have been accomplished, however, but for their
gallant and able leadership.
754 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Our State gave to the Nation and the world not only the
illustrious Lincoln, but the great commander-in-chief, General
Grant, who led her armed hosts to final victory. Eleven other
of the major-generals of volunteers were credited to Illinois,
namely: John Pope, John A. McClernand, Stephen A. Hurlbut,
Benjamin M. Prentiss, John M. Palmer, Richard J. Oglesby,
John A. Logan, John M. Schofield, Napoleon B. Buford, Wesley
Merritt, Benjamin H. Grierson, and Giles A. Smith.
Twenty of those who started out as commanders of regi-
ments were promoted to brevet major- generalship; fifty-three
excluding those named above rose to be brigadier-generals,
and 1 20 attained the rank of brevet brigadier-generals. To
award to each of these gallant leaders his just meed of praise
would be impossible without prolixity; to select a chosen few
for special encomium would be invidious.*
The State was equally well served by the staff-officers and
aides-de-camp appointed therefrom, headed by the brave and
efficient Gen. John A. Rawlins.
To confine the history of the part taken by Illinois in the
war to a recital of the meritorious services of her brave volun-
teers, would be as incomplete as it would be unjust, to that
portion of her citizens who, for personal, domestic, or official
reasons, did not go to the war and who might be properly
classified as the "stay-at-homes."
It was just as essential to the success of the Union cause
that trade should be carried on, manufactures continued, and
that civil and quasi-military offices should be loyally filled and
faithfully administered, as it was that armies should be recruited
and equipped for the struggle in the field. Many of those who
would have distinguished themselves in the military service and
would have shared with others in the renown of their heroic
achievements, wisely and nobly decided to perform their duties
as public officers or private citizens in their several stations at
home.
The backbone of the Union army was the unfaltering support
it received from the loyal people who helped to raise and main-
tain it; who followed it with their sympathy and aid; who in
*A complete list of brevet major-generals, brigadier and brevet brigadier-gen-
erals, will be found in the Appendix.
THE "STAY-AT-HOMES." 755
fact furnished the sinews of war and made its glorious success
possible. To counteract the adverse influences of the disloyal
element, which was ever active and untiring; to uncover and
defeat their secret machinations; to respond to the frequent
calls of sanitary and Christian commissions; and to keep brightly
burning the flame of patriotism on every home altar these
were the claims and demands which were continually pressing
upon the time, purse, and devotion to the Union of the "stay-
at-homes."
As soon as news had been received of the engagement at
Fort Donelson, the governor and state officers visited the battle-
field, not only for the purpose of rejoicing with the brave volun-
teers over the first great victory of the Uniifn arms, but also,
and chiefly, to look after and care for the sick and wounded.
It had been seen long before this that the facilities of the
war department were inadequate to the proper care of the sick
and disabled soldiers of so vast and hastily-equipped an army.
To alleviate the suffering and reduce the mortality consequent
upon the imperfect methods of the government, supplementary
organizations, sanitary commissions, both national and state,
were formed. Through the unwearying zeal of these efforts,
large quantities of medical and surgical as well as other supplies
were collected and distributed among the wounded and suffer-
ing, both in hospitals and camps. Devoted, self-sacrificing,
courageous women volunteered their services as nurses and
nobly performed their part, not only by the couch of pain in
the hospital or tent, but even in the midst of a pitiless leaden
hail upon the field.
Following close upon the victory at P'ort Donelson, came
the sanguinary battle of Shiloh, with its appalling list of 7882
wounded Union soldiers, besides the multitude of confederates
left helpless upon the field. The army - hospitals were over-
crowded, and in pursuance of the recommendation of Governor
Yates, hospitals were established at Springfield, Peoria, and
Quincy.
Within twenty-four hours after the guns of Shiloh had ceased
to reverberate among the mountains of Tennessee, Gov. Yates
had chartered a steamboat, from the Chicago Burlington and
Quincy Railroad, commanded by Col. Charles Goodrich Ham-
756 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
mond, and was on his way to the scene of carnage, with sur-
geons, nurses, and all necessary medico-surgical appliances and
supplies.
Arriving just a week after the battle, the dreadful evidences
of the havoc of war were to be seen on every side. Dead bodies
were lying on the ground awaiting burial, while others had been
hurriedly thrown into shallow graves and were but partially
covered with the cold earth. The condition of the wounded was
most deplorable. The accommodations of the hastily - impro-
vised field-hospitals were insufficient to provide for the dying
and those whose wounds were most serious. Hundreds of brave
men were lying where they had fallen, their wounds as yet un-
dressed, while otfTer hundreds were dying from disease induced
by nervous prostration and exposure. They had neither sup-
plies nor medical attention.
The governor's coming was most opportune and was hailed
by the suffering soldiers and their friends with unspeakable
satisfaction. In a few hours the boat was laden with about 300
of the most severely wounded and had started on its homeward
way. As soon as its precious human cargo had been disposed
of in Illinois hospitals, Adj't-Gen. Fuller was dispatched with
the same boat for another load to be cared for in a like manner.
Two other similar and equally successful expeditions followed;
the number of wounded soldiers thus brought to northern hos-
pitals and within the reach of friends and home exceeded
1000; and the number of lives thus saved, which would have
been lost if left to such surgical treatment as could have been
given them by regulation methods, can hardly be estimated.
Gov. Yates had said, "we must not let our brave boys think
that they are forgotten, but follow them in their many marches,
with such things as they need for their comfort, which the gov-
ernment can not supply, and with messages of love and encour-
agement from home, wherever they go and at whatever cost."
To carry out this purpose involved the outlay of immense
sums and the labor of many patriotic hands. In order that the
work might be properly systematized and intelligently directed,
the governor determined to establish a State sanitary bureau
and appointed Col. John Williams, state commissary-general, its
chief. A board of directors was appointed, consisting of Col. John
SANITARY COMMISSIONS. 757
Williams, William Butler, John P. Reynolds, Robert Irwin, and
E. B. Hawley; Col. John R. Woods acted as secretary. State
agents, for the purpose of dispensing relief and distributing
supplies, were appointed at the places named as follows: C. T.
Chase and Capt. C. W. Webster at Cairo, J. C. McCoy and A.
A. Dunseth at Louisville, Col. Thomas P. Robb at Memphis,
Edward I. Eno at Nashville, Dr. J. Weeks and M. E. Worrall at
Chattanooga, E. C. Hackett at Duvalls Bluffs, Maj. John H.
Woods at St. Louis, and E. Ransom in the home field.
So efficient and popular had been the work of these officers,
that the legislature of 1865 passed a law authorizing the gov-
ernor to appoint "military state agents" and providing for their
compensation. Under this law, with the ranj<: of colonel, were
appointed: Walter D. B. Morrill, Selah W. King, Jackson M.
Sheets, Thomas P. Robb, B. F. Bumgardner, Harry D. Cook,
John H. Wickiser, Owen M. Long, M.D., and Newton Craw-
ford, all of whom performed arduous and efficient services.
Auxiliary sanitary associations and soldiers aid-societies were
formed, and fairs held in aid of the work in nearly every county
in the State, the citizens responding with great liberality to all
of the many calls made upon them.
The labors of the state commission were of incalculable value.
It formed the connecting link between the needy, suffering soldier
and those dear to him at home. In his privations it brought
solace and not infrequently its ministrations called him back to
life from the brink of the grave. Thousands were saved to their
families and country through this instrumentality, who but for
the assistance thus rendered would have been sacrificed. They,
wasted and bleeding from wounds, were met returning by warm
hearts and restored to home and health. Those incapacitated
for service were furloughed or discharged and sent home to
their families and friends. Their papers were properly made
out and their pay collected and sent to them over $300,000
passing in this way through the hands of the commission. They
were lodged on their way in Soldiers' homes and were supplied
with meals, rations, and clothing, and furnished with transpor-
tation when able to travel.
The United-States sanitary commission, organized April 25,
1861, with Rev. Henry W. Bellows of New York at its head,
758 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
embraced in its field of operations the entire army. The Chi-
cago commission was organized Oct. 17, 1861. Its principal
officers and self-sacrificing and indefatigable managers were
Isaac Newton Arnold, Mark Skinner, Ezra Butler McCagg,
William Hubbard Brown, Dr. Ralph N. Isham, E. W. Blatch-
ford, John W. Foster, James Ward, Cyrus Bentley, Benjamin
Wright Raymond, Ira G. Munn, Wesley Munger, Jabez Kent
Botsford, James B. Bradwell, Charles Goodrich Hammond, and
Thomas Butler Bryan. The service rendered by these societies
and kindred organizations was second only to that of our im-
mense armies, which they supplemented.
Soldiers' homes and relief associations and hospitals were
established, and agents appointed. Immense sums of money and
large quantities of supplies were collected, partly by direct
contribution and partly through sanitary fairs and other agencies
the total aggregating $1,056,192, of which $411,027 was in
cash. This enormous fund was administered with rigid econ-
omy and scrupulous fidelity, being applied, almost in its entirety,
to the relief of sick and wounded soldiers.
In this great work the women of the State were not found
wanting, and its success was in no small degree due to their
unwearying devotion and noble self-sacrifice. Among those
prominently identified with the movement in Chicago and who
lent it invaluable aid were Mesdames Daniel P. Livermore,
Abram H. Hoge, Henry Sayrs, Jeremiah Porter, Oliver E. Hos-
mer, Christopher C. Webster, E. W. Blatchford, Sloan,
Beaubien, Myra Bradwell, C. P. Dickinson, Misses
Culver, Elizabeth Hawley, Elizabeth Blakie, and Jeanie E. Me
Laren. Through their efforts, in addition to other work for the
commission, a female- nurse association was formed, the object
of which was to furnish to military hospitals trained nurses.
At the head of this department were Mrs. Mary Bickerdyke,
Mrs. Edgerton, Miss Jane A. Babcock, Miss Mary E. M.
Foster, and Mrs. D. M. Brundage.
In 1863, was also formed, in Chicago, the Ladies Relief
Society to care for the families of soldiers. It was managed
by Mesdames Abram H. Hoge, Edward I. Tinkham, C. A.
Lamb, and Henry D. Smith.
Another association of the "stay-at-homes" was the Christian
UNION LEAGUE OF AMERICA. 759
Commission, at the head of which, in Chicago, were John V.
Farwell, Tuthill King, Benjamin F. Jacobs, Dwight L. Moody,
Samuel P. Farrington, Jas. L. Reynolds, and Phineas L. Under-
wood. Through this branch, $139,019 in cash, stores, and
publications, were distributed. The branch at Peoria distrib-
uted $54,863, and that at Springfield, $33,756.
But the efforts of patriotic citizens to mitigate the horrors of
war and alleviate distressed soldiers were not confined to any
one city or town. In every county either branch associations
existed or fairs were held, and loyal men and women gave from
their own home store-house the best they had, and all that
could be spared to minister to the wants of their husbands and
fathers, their sons, brothers, and neighbors in the field. It was
a day of willing sacrifices and hearty offerings upon the altar of
their country's liberty and unity.
The "stay-at-homes," in addition to the societies above
named, formed another organization totally dissimilar to these
in its aims and methods, but which wielded a mighty influence
for good in its own chosen field. It was the secret political
order known as the Union League of America, and had for its
object countervailing results against the efforts of the secret
orders of southern sympathizers. It came into existence in the
summer of 1862, in Tazewell County, and rapidly spread over
this and other states, attaining the proportions of a national
organization within a year. In 1864, it embraced 1300 councils
and had a membership of 175,000. Col. George H. Harlow,
afterward secretary of state, was one of its chief promoters, and
for many years grand secretary of the Illinois council. The
order still exists, though in a modified form.
The favorable influence of the loyal press has already been
adverted to and can not be too strongly emphasized. Many of
those who have since become distinguished as editors and
writers, gained their first laurels as war correspondents of
leading daily papers. Among those in this State, who attained
a well-earned reputation as being one of the ablest, was Joseph
K. C. Forrest. He was a great friend of Gov. Yates, who
honored him by appointing him a member of his staff with the
rank of colonel. He was the leading Springfield correspondent
during the war and subsequently followed the ex-governor, now
700 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
senator, to Washington. He is an entertaining and brilliant
writer, and, at the age of seventy, still resides in Chicago and
wields the pen with undiminished power.
The universally conceded influence of Song upon public senti-
ment first found recognition in the historic saying of Andrew
Fletcher, of Saltoun, two centuries ago, "give me the making
of the ballads and I care not who makes the laws of a nation".
In no single direction, perhaps, were the contributions of
Illinoisans to the success of the war more powerful and con-
spicuous than in that of the songs of the war furnished by two
of her citizens. "The Battle -Cry of Freedom," "Just Before
the Battle, Mother," and "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are
Marching," were composed by George F. Root, who at the age
of seventy is still an esteemed and influential citizen of Chi-
cago. "Marching Through Georgia," "Kingdom Coming," and
"Brave Boys are They," were the inspired strains of Henry Clay
Work, who at the time and for many years afterward was also
a resident of Chicago.
A confederate general, a few days after the surrender of Lee,
on hearing these and other songs for the first time, sung by a
Union quartette, exclaimed, "Gentlemen, if we'd had your
songs, we'd have licked you out of your boots. Who couldn't
have marched or fought with such songs?" Another one re-
marked: "I shall never forget the first time I heard 'Rally
Round the Flag.' T'was a nasty night during the 'Seven-days
Fight,' I was on picket, when just before taps, some fellow on
the other side struck up that song and others joined in the
chorus. Tom B. sung out, 'Good heavens, Cap., what are those
fellows made of? Here we've licked them six days running,
and now on the eve of the seventh they 're singing 'Rally Round
the Flag.' I tell you that song sounded to me like the 'knell
of doom' and my heart went down into my boots, and it has
been an up-hill fight with me ever since that night."*
It is stated that after the battle of Stone's River a great
many officers had become discouraged and being opposed to
the proclamation of emancipation, tendered their resignations.
A few days afterward a glee-club visited them from Chicago
and they heard the new song "The Battle- Cry of Freedom,"
* Century Magazine, XXXV, 478.
SONGS OF THE WAR. 761
and the effect was little short of miraculous. It rang through
the camp like wildfire, inspiring fresh courage and hope and
enthusiasm. Day and night, from every tent in lusty harmony
might be heard the chorus:
"The Union forever, hurrah! boys, hurrah!
Down with the traitor, up with the Stars;
While we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again,
Shouting the battle-cry of freedom."
And thus through these songs, simple in melody but powerful
in their appeal to the patriotic soul, the voice of Illinois was
heard in every camp throughout the army in the swamps of
Virginia, on the sand-hills of Arkansas, along the bayous of the
delta of the Mississippi, upon the mountains of Tennessee and
Georgia, recalling to the minds of the boys in blue, the prin-
ciples which they were risking their lives to maintain, reanimat-
ing their drooping spirits in the hour of defeat and inciting their
loyal hearts to new acts of valor. They not only brought fresh
cheer to the troops on tented fields, but stirred the patriotism
and nerved the loyal heart at home. At every Union meeting,
whether it was to recruit the army, to organize fresh bodies
of troops, to raise funds for war purposes, or arouse enthusiasm
at political meetings, that song and others, especially "Marching
Through Georgia," and "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are
Marching," were sung by the entire audience, with electrical
effect. Nor in these later days when the Angel of Peace
spreads her wings over a reunited country has the echo of these
Songs yet died away. As long as the Union shall endure, these
cherished melodies will be sung around the "camp-fires" of
veterans, in the family circle, and on national holidays; not in
vindictive memory but rather in a spirit of loyal enthusiasm
and of thanksgiving to the Power which has made us one people.
Thus in brief has been given a glance only at the part borne
by Illinois in the great war of the rebellion.
The author is indebted to Hon. Lucien B. Crooker, of Mendota, author of " The
Story of the 55th Illinois," for his assistance and many valuable suggestions in the
preparation of the tables of losses in this chapter
49
CHAPTER XL.
Gov. Oglesby's Administration [ Continued] Changed
Aspect of Politics Reconstruction Conventions and
Elections of 1866 Twenty -fifth General Assembly
Re-election of United-States Senator Trumbull Laws
New State-House Political Conventions, Nomina-
tions, and Elections of 1868 State Debt, Receipts, and
Expenditures.
WITH the close of the war and the incoming of a new
national administration, with Vice- President Andrew
Johnson at its head, new questions and political problems of
grave import presented themselves. It very early became ap-
parent that upon the questions growing out of the restoration
of the states lately in rebellion to their forfeited place in the
Union, and establishing the status of the newly-emancipated
slaves, there was a radical divergence of opinions between the
new executive and the great majority of the party whose
suffrages had rendered possible his accidental elevation to the
presidential chair.
The public utterances of President Johnson upon assuming
the seat made vacant by the bullet of the assassin, were of
such a character as to induce some leading, conservative repub-
licans to fear that the catholic charity of the martyred Lincoln
was to be replaced by a spirit of vindictive rancor. Johnson
was loud voiced in his declaration that "traitors must be hanged
and treason made odious," and offered a reward of $100,000
for the apprehension of Jefferson Davis and of $25,000 each
for the arrest of other noted confederate leaders, and fears were
expressed at the North that in the treatment of the late insur-
gents, justice might be supplanted by revenge. Not many
months passed, however, before all dread of the possibility of
such a catastrophe was effectually dissipated. On May 29,
1865, the president issued a proclamation of amnesty and par-
don, and during the two months succeeding, the wheels of civil
government were set in motion in the seceded states by the
762
(Hi
Of Ihfc
UKIVSRIITY Of
PRESIDENT JOHNSON'S POLICY. 763
appointment of provisional governors. These governments
were controlled by men who for four years had devoted all
their energies to the destruction of the Union, and openly
avowed that their only regret was the failure of the cause which
they had espoused. Their hatred of the national government
was equalled in intensity only by their devotion to the memory
of the defunct confederacy. The arbitrament of arms had not
altered their convictions, and their every act was inspired by a
determination to accomplish, by indirect means, at least a por-
tion of those results which they had failed to achieve by the
sword. With their consent, if not at their instigation, the "old
flag" was openly and repeatedly insulted. Although the thir-
teenth amendment to the constitution was formally ratified,
state legislation was so shaped as virtually to deprive the freed-
men of all the benefits of liberty. Unrepentant leaders of the
rebellion appeared as claimants of seats in the halls of congress
and arrogantly demanded the repeal of the test oath.
Such were the fruits of the presidential policy with which
congress found itself confronted when called upon to grapple
with the perplexing problems of reconstruction. Vastly differ-
ent from the views of Johnson were the sentiments of the
majority of both houses of the national legislature. What was
at first a difference of opinion soon widened into an irreparable
breach, and the rupture between the executive and legislative
branches of the government was well nigh completed by the
presidential vetoes of the measures popularly known as the
Freedmen's-Bureau bill and the Civil-Rights bill of which Lyman
Trumbull was the author. The open and uncompromising warfare
between the president and congress that followed formed one
of the most exciting eras of American political history. The
president favored the immediate readmission of the states with
full representation in congress, while the latter body contended
that the lately - revolted states should not be admitted to a
participation in the government of the country without first
providing such constitutional guarantees as would secure the
civil rights of all citizens of the republic, insure a just equality
of representation, protection against claims founded in the
rebellion, and the exclusion from positions of public trust of
certain leading confederates. The attitude of the administra-
764 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
tion, supported as it was by the entire democratic party and
press, inflamed partisan resentment to fever-heat. The country
was fairly ablaze with excitement and constitutional lawyers
were as plentiful as voters. The fourteenth amendment to the
constitution having been rejected by the states lately in rebel-
lion, congress evolved a new plan for reconstruction, which was
engrafted upon the national statute-book, despite the president's
veto, and the conflict between privilege and prerogative con-
tinued until its culmination was reached in the world-famous
impeachment of the chief magistrate, and the failure of the
managers on the part of the house to secure the constitutional
majority in the senate.
The republican state-convention met at Springfield, on Aug.
8, 1866, and was presided over by General Green B. Raum,
James P. Root acting as the principal secretary. Gen. John A.
Logan was nominated for congressman at large; Newton Bate-
man, the then incumbent, was renominated by acclamation for
superintendent of public instruction, and Gen. George W.
Smith of Chicago, who had served as an officer with great
gallantry and distinction in the 88th Board of Trade regi-
ment, was selected for the state treasurership on the second
ballot.
The platform adopted endorsed the congressional policy of
reconstruction as in contradistinction to that of the president;
approved the 1 3th amendment to the constitution ; denied the
right of the executive to encroach upon, or even to interfere
with, the constitutional power vested in a coordinate branch of
the government; endorsed the congressional test -oath; ex-
pressed "unfeigned and heartfelt thanks to the soldiers and
sailors for the achievements and triumphs which forever im-
mortalize them and the Nation whose government they saved;"
paid a tribute to the memory of the martyred Lincoln; and
favored shorter hours of labor for the workingman.
The democratic state- convention assembled at Springfield,
August 29, over which Gen. John A. McClernand presided.
Col. T. Lyle Dickey was nominated for congressman at large
on the second ballot; Gen. Jesse J. Phillips for state treasurer
by acclamation, and Col. John M. Crebs for state superintend-
ent of public instruction. This was essentially a soldier's ticket,
.POLITICAL ISSUES OF 1 866. 765
being made up of officers who had performed gallant services
in the late war. The platform adopted contained planks favor-
ing the reduction of hours of labor, as had that of the republi-
cans; declaring sympathy with Ireland; and reaffirming alle-
giance to the Monroe doctrine. The points as to which an issue
was raised between the two parties were indicated in the resolu-
tions which pronounced in favor of the taxation of all property,
including United -States bonds, and of the substitution of green-
backs for national -bank notes as a medium of circulation.
A "national union" convention of the supporters of President
Johnson having been held at Philadelphia, August 17, the plat-
form of that body on the subject of reconstruction was adopted.
They declared that "slavery was abolished and forever pro-
hibited," and that the enfranchised slaves should receive, in
common with all other inhabitants, equal protection in every
right of person and property; that the debt of the Nation was
sacred and inviolable; recognized the services of the federal
soldiers; and endorsed President Johnson and the policy of
his administration.
On the issues thus raised joint-discussions were held by can-
didates for congress in nearly every congressional district;
notably between Gen. Raum and W. J. Allen, in the thirteenth;
H. P. H. Bromwell and Gen. J. C. Black in the seventh; and
between S. M. Cullom and Dr. Edwin S. Fowler in the eighth-
while Gen. Logan and Col. Dickey met each other at Carbon-
dale, McComb, and Decatur, at each of which places large
crowds gathered to hear the debate. The republicans carried
the State by an increased majority that of Logan being 55,-
987. They elected n out of 14 congressmen and secured the
legislature by an overwhelming majority the senate standing
16 republicans to 9 democrats, and the house, 6 o republicans
to 2 5 democrats. It was apparent, however, that the returned
soldiers had divided their vote very nearly impartially between
the two parties.
There were three sessions of the twenty-fifth general assem-
bly; the first from Jan. 7, to Feb. 28, 1*67; the second from
June II, to June 13; and the third, from June 14, to June 28.
Gen. A. C. Fuller had been transferred from the house to the
senate, as had Daniel J. Pinckney; and with them appeared in
766 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
that body for the first time, Thomas A. Boyd, Greenberry L.
Fort, Daniel W. Munn, and William Shepard.
To the house but 18 former members had been returned.
Among these were Hugh Gregg, Wm. K. Murphy, Jas. C. Conk-
ling, Jas. M. Epler, Maiden Jones, T. C. Moore, Elmer Baldwin,
Franklin Corwin, Stephen A. Hurlbut, E. B. Payne, and H. C.
Childs. Among the new names on the roll were those of
Erastus N. Bates, Robert P. Hanna, John H. Yeager, J. F.
Alexander, James M. True, Edwin Harlan, J. B. Ricks, H. C.
Withers, Robert M. Knapp, J. G. Fonda, Wm. M. Smith, Henry
S. Greene, A. B. Bunn, Wm. Strawn, James Dinsmore, Joseph
M. Bailey, Henry M. Shepard, Edward S. Taylor, Lester L.
Bond, Joseph S. Reynolds, and Horace M. Singer.
The house was organized by the election of Franklin Corwin
of LaSalle, speaker, who received 58 votes to 24 cast for New-
ton R. Casey. Stephen G. Paddock was elected clerk of the
house and Charles E. Lippincott secretary of the senate.
The governor's message was read to both houses on January
7. He congratulated the people upon the cessation of war and
referred to the death of the president in the following well-
chosen words: "Prompt to war, we were overjoyed at the return
of peace. Our noble soldiers who sought the field and defied
the conflict who stood at the helm until the tempest subsided
have returned to all the employments of peaceful life, so
naturally, and so rapidly, that but for the mangled forms of
those we meet every day, and the noble and honored dead, who
sleep behind, the dark hours of the four mad years would
scarcely sadden us.
"Inspired by solemn duty and unalloyed respect for his high
character as a citizen and statesman, I but respond to a natural
and just expectation in recalling your thoughts to the death of
Abraham Lincoln, the late president of the United States. In
the maturity of life, at the moment of greatest usefulness to
his country, when the gilded rays of the morning of peace were
just beginning to dawn upon our distracted country, and the
first impressions of joy to throb in his great heart over the
august results of our own great struggle, and his own herculean
efforts, for the peace, the security, and the perpetuity of the
Union, he fell by the hand of a remorseless assassin. Our State
RE-ELECTION OF SENATOR TRUMBULL. 767
was his loved home and here he sleeps in death. Illinois, justly
proud of his imperishable fame, can not regret that he belonged
to our whole county, and by our whole country shall be forever
honored and mourned."
He exhibited a detailed statement of the public debt and of
the receipts and expenditures of the State government; referred
to the State census taken in 1865, which, although incomplete,
showed a decided increase of products and manufacturing, as
compared with 1860, and a marked growth in population,
which was given as 2,141,510; referred to the condition of the
state institutions; and recommended a revision of the State
constitution.
The first work of the legislature, after effecting the organiza-
tion of the two houses, was the election of a successor to Judge
Trumbull whose term as United-States senator was to expire
on March 4. Considerable hostility to Trumbull's reelection
was developed, many republicans thinking that the honor should
be conferred upon one of the heroes of the war. The opposi-
tion finally concentrated in favor of John M. Palmer, and the
claims of each candidate were discussed with no little warmth,
there having been raised the issue of fact as to the source from
which emanated the idea of citizenship embodied in the civil-
rights bill introduced by Judge Trumbull, which both contest-
ants claimed to have originated. Gen. Palmer was supported
by Generals Oglesby and Logan on the ground that the office
ought to go to a soldier.
The strength of the candidates was tested on a preliminary
ballot in the caucus and found to be 48 to 28 in favor of Trum-
bull. The friends of Palmer thereupon withdrew his name,
when the judge was renominated by acclamation and his elec-
tion followed on January 16; the democrats voting for Colonel
T. Lyle Dickey.
On January 15, the fourteenth amendment to the Nation's
constitution, conferring citizenship upon all persons born or
naturalized in the United States without regard to color was
ratified by a strict party- vote; the roll call in the senate show-
ing 17 in its favor to 8 negatives, and in the house 60 to 25.
Having disposed of these political questions, both houses
now gave their undivided attention to the consideration of those
768 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
subjects of public interest, the discussion and settlement of which
made this an unusually interesting and exciting session.
The first of these topics to receive attention was the question
of the construction and location of an agricultural or industrial
college, for the building and maintenance of which a donation
of land had been made to the several states by act of congress
of July 2, 1862; Illinois' share being equivalent to 480,000 acres.
The condition of the grant was that the states should provide
for the erection of these institutions within five years, which
period would expire on the second day of the succeeding July.
Among the cities and towns competing to secure the location
were Jacksonville, Lincoln, Pekin, Bloomington, and Champaign,
or Urbana. The latter city having made what was considered
the best offer, consisting of lands and buildings estimated to t>e
worth $550,400, won the prize, and the bill for the construction
of the college was passed and duly approved.
Another question, still more absorbing, and which was con-
sidered in the same connection, was that of the erection of a
new state-house. The State had manifestly outgrown the old
structure, magnificent and complete as it was considered to be
when built. The building did not now contain sufficient room
to accommodate the public officers and there was a demand for a
larger and more convenient edifice. With this question, how-
ever, and growing out of it, was sprung that of the removal of
the capital. Anticipating the movement for a new building, a
bill had been introduced in the senate in 1865, for the removal
of the capital to Peoria, which had been rather favorably re-
ceived in many portions of the State and advocated by some
of the leading newspapers. M. L. Jossyln of McHenry, had at
the same session introduced a bill for the removal of the seat
of government to Chicago, but this had been subsequently laid
upon the table by a vote of 48 to 31.*
At the present session, a bill providing for the erection of a
new state-house limiting its cost to $3,000,000 and appropri-
ating $450,000 to begin the work was introduced in the sen-
ate and ably managed there by Cohrs, and skilfully championed
in the house by Conkling from Sangamon, who found an able
coadjutor in Gen. Hurlbut. Almost simultaneously, Decatur
* " House Journal, " 537.
LAWS PASSED. 769
now came to the front with a proposition, to donate to the
State a beautiful site, comprising about ten acres of land, and
$1,000,000 in cash, for the location of the capital in that city.
But munificent as was the offer, it failed to make any decided
impression upon the legislative mind, and the bill of Senator
Cohrs became a law February 25, 1867.
An attempt was made subsequently to obstruct the action of
the state-house commissioners by legal proceedings on the
ground that being public officers, under the constitution they
should have been appointed by the governor instead of being
named by the legislature, and that, therefore, they had no right-
ful authority to act; but the court of ultimate resort finally
decided that the position of the petitioners was not well taken.
The following additional laws of public importance were also
passed at this session:
To locate, construct, and carry on the southern Illinois peni-
tentiary; to establish a state board for the equalization of as-
sessments; to create the office of attorney-general; an act pro-
viding for the regulation of warehousemen and authorizing con-
nections of railroads with warehouses; an act relating to the
competency of witnesses, removing the disqualification thereto-
fore attaching through interest in the event of the suit or
because of previous conviction of crime, thus changing the rules
of the common law in this respect; also acts for canal-and-
river improvement; making eight hours a legal day's work,
except in farm employments; authorizing juries in cases of
murder to fix the punishment by either death or imprisonment
in the penitentiary.
The question of state supervision of railroads and the regu-
lation of rates was freely discussed at this session, and a bill
for that purpose passed the senate but failed to secure a major-
ity in the house.
The laws of public and general interest passed at this session,
important and far-reaching as they were, are contained in a
modest volume of 205 printed -octavo pages; while those de-
nominated "private," relating chiefly to corporations, required
three large volumes containing over 2500 octavo pages.
The general assembly adjourned February 28, but the body
was convened in special session June 11, by the governor, at
7/0 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
which time laws were passed regulating the assessment and
collection of taxes upon the shares of capital stock in banks,
and amendatory of "an act to incorporate the Mississippi-River-
and-Wisconsin-State-Line Railroad Company" of Feb. 28, 1867.
A second special session was called June 14 the first having
adjourned on that day to provide for the management of the
penitentiary at Joliet, the lessee having surrendered his lease
without previous notice. A law was passed providing for the
appointment of commissioners, a warden, and for the letting of
the convict's labor on contract. This being done, the legislature
finally adjourned June 28.
The troubling of the political waters in Illinois by the two
great parties, preparatory to the quadrennial commotions pre-
ceding the first presidential election after the war, was inaugu-
rated by the democrats. Their state convention met at Spring-
field, April 15, and was presided over by Anthony L. Thornton.
It was declared in the platform adopted that the democratic
party was unalterably opposed to the reconstruction measures of
congress; that the right of suffrage should be limited to the
white race, but that the people in each state should determine
the question for themselves; that the public debt should be
paid in legal tenders, except when a different standard had
been stipulated for; in favor of abolishing the present national-
bank system and supplying legal tenders in the place of bank-
notes; that all government securities should be taxed; con-
demning the existing tariff system and demanding that trade
should be left entirely free, subject only to the imperative
necessities of the government; denouncing the impeachment of
President Johnson; acknowledging the Nation's debt of grati-
tude to the soldiers and sailors; and, finally, pronouncing in
favor of Geo. H. Pendleton as the choice of the party in Illinois
for president*
* The following were appointed delegates to the national convention : at large,
Wm. J. Allen, Wm. R. Morrison, George W. Shutt, W. T. Dowdall, Wilbur F.
Storey Wm. A. Richardson; 1st district, Thomas Hoyne, W. C. Goudy; 2d, R. S.
Molony, A. M. Harrington; 3d, William P. Malburn, Bernard H. Truesdale; 4th,
Charles Buford, Geo. Edmunds; 5th, W. W. O'Brien, James S. Eckles; 6th, Chas.
E. Boyer, J. H. McConnel; 7th, John Doulon, Thomas Brewer; 8th, R. B. M.
Wilson, Charles A. Keyes; gth, Lyman Lacy, Henry L. Bryant; loth, Edward Y.
Rice, David M. Woodson; nth, Samuel K. Casey, Joseph Cooper; 12th, Timothy
Greaze, W. A. J. Sparks; I3th, William H. Green, George W. Wall.
PALMER NOMINATED FOR GOVERNOR. 771
This platform was not adopted without strong opposition,
many of the delegates being in favor of the payment of the
5-20 bonds in gold and many also were opposed to the nomina-
tion of Pendleton.
The ticket nominated was John R. Eden for governor; Wm.
H. VanEpps for lieutenant-governor; Gustavus VanHornbecke
for secretary of state; Gen. Jesse J. Phillips for state treasurer;
John R. Shannon for auditor; John W. Connett, Dr. W. G.
Garrard, and Volney Zarley for commissioners of the peniten-
tiary; William W. O'Brien was nominated for congressman at
large.
The republican state convention was held at Peoria, May 6.
Franklin Corwin acted as president and James P. Root as prin-
cipal secretary.
Peoria was the home of Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll, then
attorney-general,* whose name had been favorably mentioned
in connection with the governorship, in case General Palmer
who had been brought most prominently before the public as a
candidate should decline the honor, as it had been authorita-
tively stated he would do. A dispatch was sent to the general
when the convention assembled asking him if he would accept
the nomination, to which he replied, "Do not permit me to be
nominated, I can not accept."-f- But the convention "would not
take no for an answer," and his nomination, which would have
been by acclamation had there not been doubts of his accept-
ance, was made on the second ballot, the vote standing as fol-
lows: first ballot Palmer 263, Ingersoll 117, S. W. Moulton 82,
Dubois42; second ballot Palmer 317, Ingersoll n 8, Moulton
52, Dubois 17. The nomination was then made unanimous. It
was evident that his selection voiced the spontaneous choice of
the party; the nomination came to him without effort on his
part, and his election was, perhaps, the first instance in Illinois
politics of "the office seeking the man rather than the man the
office."
The other nominations were as follows : for lieutenant-gover-
nor, John Dougherty of Union County without serious opposi-
tion; for secretary of state, Edward Rummel on the third
* Appointed Feb. 28, 1867, by Gov. Oglesby under the law of the last legislature.
+ Springfield State Journal's report.
772 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
ballot; for auditor, Charles E. Lippincott on the first ballot; for
state treasurer, Erastus N. Bates on the first ballot, the race
being close between him and the then incumbent, George
W. Smith. There was also an animated contest over the nomi-
nation for attorney-general between Washington Bushnell and
Gen. S. A. Hurlbut, resulting in the choice of the former; for
penitentiary commissioners, Andrew Shuman, Robert E. Logan,
and John Reid were nominated; and John A. Logan for con-
gressman at large, by acclamation.
The platform adopted supported the reconstruction policy of
congress; denounced repudiation and favored paying the public
debt according to the letter and spirit of the law; demanded
the equalization and reduction of taxes; recognized the rights
of labor "an honest day's wages for a faithful day's work;"
endorsed Gen. U. S. Grant for president; and expressed grati-
tude to the soldiers and sailors for their services in the late war.*
At the republican national convention which met in Chicago,
May 21, Ulysses S. Grant was nominated for president by gen-
eral consent; and Schuyler Colfax for vice-president, after a
close contest on the fifth ballot, the other principal candidates
being Benj. F. Wade, Reuben E. Fenton, and Henry Wilson.
The democratic national convention was held in New- York
City, beginning on July 4. The first ballot exhibited the
strength of the various candidates for nomination as follows:
George H. Pendleton 105, Andrew Johnson 65, Winfield S.
Hancock 33^2, Sanford E. Church 33, Asa Packer 26. Pendle-
ton dropped out on the nineteenth ballot, when Hancock
received 135^ votes, Thomas Hendricks 107^, with 73 scat-
tering. On the twenty -second ballot, a stampede was made
in the direction of Horatio Seymour, the president of the con-
vention, who received 317 votes and was nominated despite his
oft-quoted protestation, "Gentlemen, your candidate I can not
* The delegates chosen to the republican national convention were : at large, John
A. Logan, B. J. Sweet, A. C. Babcock, J. K. Dubois, E. A. Storrs; 1st district,
J. R. Jones, Herman Raster; 2d, M. L. Josslyn, Wm. Hullin; 3d, James L. Camp,
N. D. Swift; 4th, Calvin Truesdale, Ira D. Chamberlin; 5th, Mark Bangs, W. L.
Wiley; 6th, Henry Fish, Calhoun Grant; yth, J. W. Langley, James H. Steele; 8th,
Giles A. Smith, I. S. Whitmore; gth, Hugh L. Fullerton, C. N. Whitney; loth,
John Logan, A. C. Vanderwater; nth, J. A. Powell, William H. Robinson; I2th,
P. E. Hosmer, Philip Isenmeyer; I3th, B. G. Roots, Thomas S. Ridgway.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT. 7/3
be." F. P. Blair of Missouri was nominated for vice-president.
All other questions in this celebrated campaign were made
subordinate to that of the maintenance or overthrow of the
congressional policy of reconstruction, including what was
popularly known as impartial suffrage, and the payment of the
public debt "not only according to the letter but the spirit of
the laws under which it was contracted" as demanded by the
republicans and opposed by the democrats; the latter insist-
ing upon the adoption of the Johnsonian policy of reconstruc-
tion and the payment of the public debt in "lawful money," by
which was meant the depreciated legal tenders.
The issue being thus made up, the popular verdict was again
rendered in favor of the republicans. Grant carried 26 states
and received 214 electoral votes; Seymour 8 states, including
New York, with 80 electoral votes; three states not voting.
Grant's majority of the popular vote was 305,458; his majority
in Illinois was 51,150; while Palmer's was 50,099. The republi-
cans succeeded also in securing an increased legislative majority.
The receipts into the treasury for the two years ending Nov.
30, 1868, were $2,276,763, and the payments for special pur-
poses $1,050,882, and for ordinary expenses, including state
institutions, $1,075,726 leaving a balance, including amount
brought forward, in the treasury of $216,751.
The state-debt was reduced during Gov. Oglesby's adminis-
tration as follows:
Amount Dec. I, 1864, - $11,246,210
Penitentiary bonds, - 50,000 11,296,210
Paid on same in four years, - $.307,757
Balance Dec. I, 1868, - $5,988,453
Paid on account of interest, - $2,314,514
Gov. Oglesby was abundantly justified in saying at the close of
his term, in his last message, that "looking back over the four
years that have passed, since by the generous confidence of the
people I was honored with the administration of the executive
department of the State government, one unbroken chain of
general and reasonable prosperity marks the whole period of
our history and progressive march up to the commencement
of the present year."
CHAPTER XLI.
Governor Palmer's Administration (1869-1873) Twenty -
sixth General Assembly Ratification of the Fifteenth
Amendment Special Legislation Laws and Vetoes.
r \ A HE name of John McAuley Palmer, the sixteenth governor
JL of the State, at the time of his nomination and election
had become distinguished as that of one of the leaders of the
republican party. Like his predecessor as well as many others
in this country who have won fame and honor his early educa-
tional advantages were limited to such as were afforded by the
common schools to be found in the country settlements of his
native state, Kentucky, where he was born September 13, 1817.
Removing to Illinois in 1831, after spending two years on his
father's farm, he enjoyed for a brief time the benefit of attend-
ing Shurtliff College, at Upper Alton. Leaving the academic
shades, however, at an early age, he donned the garb and
grasped the ferule of the pedagogue. While thus employed, as
his limited means afforded him opportunity, being encouraged
thereto by Judge Douglas who took an interest in his welfare,
he pursued the study of the law and was admitted to the bar
in 1839. His natural inclination soon led him to enter the
arena of politics, where he made a favorable impression. His
first office was that of probate judge of Macoupin County, his
residence being at Carlinville, the county-seat. From this time
forward his advancement was rapid. He was a member of the
constitutional convention of 1847; was elected to the state
senate in 1852, to fill a vacancy, and was reflected in 1854.
Having been, under all circumstances, and without regard to
political affiliations, a consistent opponent of slavery, as was his
father before him, he separated from the democratic party, to
which he had hitherto belonged, in consequence of its attitude
on the questions arising under the Kansas-Nebraska legislation
of congress and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. His
action as a member of the nineteenth general assembly in sup-
porting Judge Trumbull, and afterward in assisting to organize
774
irit
Of Iht
UP
JOHN M. PALMER. 775
the republican party, has already been adverted to. In 1859, he
was an unsuccessful candidate for congress against General Me
demand; in 1860, he was a republican presidential elector;
and in 1861, was one of the commissioners from Illinois to the
peace -congress at Washington. When the war broke out, he
tendered his services to the government and was commissioned
colonel of the I4th Regiment. Discovering an unexpected
aptitude for military affairs, he rose rapidly to the positions
of brigadier- and major-general, successively. His record as a
division -commander, especially at Stone's River and Chicka-
mauga, was exceptionally brilliant. Having asked to be relieved
from the command of the I4th army corps before Atlanta,
because of the assignment over him by Gen. Sherman of Gen.
Howard, a junior officer, to command the Army of the Tennes-
see, President Lincoln, who well knew Palmer's superior quali-
fications for such a position, appointed him to the command of
the military district of Kentucky. His discharge of the respon-
sible, complicated, and delicate duties thereto attaching, was
such as to command the approval and endorsement of the
administration and of loyal citizens generally.
Gen. Palmer is a devoted follower of his profession, the law,,
in which he has been successful to a high degree. No ath lete
enters into a contest of physical strength and dexterity with,
greater ardor or keener enjoyment than does the general into
a legal contest before a court and jury. Here the full powers
of his mind have free scope, and no intricacy of facts or inge-
nuity of opposing counsel can dampen his enthusiasm or
lessen his devotion to the interests of his client. As a speaker,
he is interesting and forcible rather than eloquent. Yet when
he becomes fully aroused and the magnitude of the question is
such as to bring into full play his strong reasoning faculties, his
keen wit, and biting sarcasm, there are few speakers, however
fluent or eloquent, who covet the opportunity of facing him on
the other side. Of robust frame, sanguine temperament, gen-
ial disposition, and a superior mental organization, his seventy
odd years, the greater portion of which have been spent in
active public life, rest upon him as lightly as do two score
years and ten upon the majority of men whose vital powers have
not been submitted to so severe a strain. On his elevation to
776 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
the executive chair of the State, he entered upon a larger and
measurably untried field of service, and at the commencement
of one of the most important eras in the civil history of Illinois.*
Col. John Dougherty, the lieutenant-governor elect, had been,
until the outbreak of the civil war, a leading democrat. He had
served four consecutive terms in the Illinois house of representa-
tives, beginning in 1834; and had been twice thereafter elected
to the state senate 1842-46. He was a fair parliamentarian
and a courteous gentleman of the old school.^
The twenty-sixth general assembly, the last under the consti-
tution of 1848, convened Jan. 4, 1869. The names of the new
senators were J. J. R. Turney of Wayne County, Samuel K.
Casey of Jefferson, John P. VanDorston of Fayette, Willard C.
Flagg of Madison, Edwin Harlan of Clark, John McNulta of
McLean, Aaron B. Nicholson of Logan, James M. Epler of
Cass, Isaac McManus of Mercer, Jason W. Strevell of Living-
ston, Henry Snapp of Will, Andrew Crawford of Henry, and
John C. Dore of Cook. In the house, less than one-fifth of the
old members had been returned. Among these were Newton
R. Casey, David M. Woodson, Charles Voris, William M.
Smith, Franklin Corwin, James Dinsmore, Ansel B. Cook,
Henry C. Childs; and Messrs. Bond, Reynolds, and Taylor,
from Cook County.
Among the new members, there came for the first time, Silas
Beason, John Cook, Irus Coy, Calvin H. Frew, Joshua C.
Knickerbocker, John Landrigan, Edward Laning, Thomas E.
Merritt, William E. Phelps, and Lorenzo D. Whiting. The
senate stood 18 republicans, 7 democrats; the house, 58 repub-
licans, 27 democrats.!
Franklin Corwin was elected speaker, James P. Root clerk,
* Herbert Dilger was appointed adj't-general and E. B. Harlan private secretary.
t He was born of Irish parentage, in Washington County, Ohio, May 6, 1806.
The occupations and nativity of the members were as follows :
Senate: lawyers 12, farmers 6, merchants 3, miller, trader, banker, and physician
one each; 6 were from New York, 4 New England, 3 Pennsylvania, 3 Illinois, 2
Ohio, one each from Scotland and England, 2 Indiana, 2 Kentucky, i Tennessee.
House: lawyers 22, farmers 30, physicians n, merchants and traders 10, manu-
facturers 5, bankers 3, printers 2, and one architect and one editor; 20 were from
Ohio, 18 New York, 10 Illinois, 10 Kentucky, 10 New England, 4 Pennsylvania,
3 Virginia, i Tennessee, and 8 foreigners.
GOV. PALMER'S INAUGURAL. 777
James K. Magie assistant clerk, James V. Mahoney enrolling
and engrossing clerk, and Francis Sequin doorkeeper. Chauncey
Elwood was chosen secretary of the senate and John M. Wall
sergeant-at-arms.
Gov. Palmer took the oath of office and delivered his inaugu-
ral address in person before the joint - session of the general
assembly on January n. A prominent feature in this document
was the discussion, for the first time by an executive, before
the legislature, of the relative rights and duties of railroad cor-
porations and the government of the State, involving the right
of the latter to exercise legislative control over the franchises of
common carriers. The extraordinary multiplication and ex-
tension of these highways of trade and the growing influence
which they exerted upon the commerce of the State, together
with their alleged encroachments upon the rights of the public
in making inequitable and unequal charges for transportation
of freight and passengers, had evoked a wide-spread feeling of
alarm and anxiety among the people, who had demanded legis-
lative action at the previous session, but which, as has been
seen, although attempted, had failed.
The governor remarked: "In my judgment, all express grants
to a railway corporation of the power to fix the rates of com-
pensation which it will demand for its services, however ex-
pressed, is always attended by the inseparable condition that it
shall be exercised in a just and reasonable manner. * * *
Fixed tolls are permitted, not to authorize unreasonable rates to
be demanded, but that reasonable charges may be conveniently
ascertained and collected ; while the whole matter must, in the
nature of things, be subject to the final control of the State."
In this connection, and in opposition to the project to create
railroad corporations by act of the general government under
the clause of the United- States constitution conferring upon
congress the power to regulate commerce between the several
states the governor took occasion to discuss the question of
state-rights, as follows: "Such corporations would embarrass the
operations of those already created by the States ; they would
be exempt from taxation by state authority; in short, the State
would have no power, by taxation or otherwise, to retard, impede,
burthen, or in any manner control the operations of such incor-
50
7/8 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
porations. It is essential to the usefulness of state govern-
ments that their just authority should be respected by that of
the Nation. Already the authority of the states is, in a meas-
ure, paralyzed by a growing conviction that all their powers are,
in some sense, derivative and subordinate, and not original and
independent The state governments are a part of the Ameri-
can system of government. They fill a well-defined place, and
their just authority must be respected by the federal govern-
ment, if it is expected that the laws will be obeyed. * * It is
the clear duty of the national government to decline the exer-
cise of all doubtful powers when the neglect to do so would be
to bring it into fields of legislation already occupied by the
states, thereby raising embarrassing questions and presenting
a singular and dangerous instance of two jurisdictions claiming
the right to control the same class of subjects and creating
rival corporations with different powers."
This reference to the doctrine of state sovereignty was re-
garded by the republicans as uncalled for by the situation, but
was warmly approved and heartily endorsed by the democrats.
In response to the demand for legislative action on the sub-
ject of rates, Senator Fuller, chairman of the senate committee
on railroads, early in the session, introduced a bill for "An act
concerning railroad rates for passengers in Illinois." It provided,
among other things, that no railroad corporation doing business
in this State should charge or receive for the conveyance of any
passenger over its line of road more than three cents per mile.
The bill passed both houses, but was returned to the senate by
the governor with his veto, on the following grounds: that the
charter of every railroad company constitutes a contract, the
validity of which can not be impaired by the legislature the
respective rights of the State and the corporators being fixed
beyond recall and the contract being susceptible of interpreta-
tion only by the judiciary; the bill as passed, the governor said,
was an assumption of judicial powers by the legislative depart-
ment. He remarked, in his message: "In fact, the bill is based
upon a misconception both of the rights of the corporators and
of the public. The rights of all are secured by the contract be-
tween the proprietors of the corporate franchise and the state.
* * What is reasonable for the transportation of passengers,
TAX-GRABBING LAW. 779
under any given circumstances, must, in the nature of things, be
dependent upon the facts that can only be investigated in
tribunals organized for that purpose. * * The bill under con-
sideration, then, so far as it proposes to establish a rate of com-
pensation to railroad corporations for the transportation of
passengers, founded alone upon the authority of the general
assembly, irrespective of the exact measure of reason and right,
impairs the obligation of the contracts of the State, and if it
rests for its support upon any claim of the general assembly of
a right to interpret this class of contracts, it invades the consti-
tutional power of the judicial department, and would be void
even if clothed by my approval with the forms of law."
The senate having refused to pass the bill over the governor's
veto, Gen. Fuller introduced a new measure, drafted in accord-
ance with the governor's views, which became a law March 10.
The first section provided that all railroads in this State should
be "limited to a just, reasonable, and uniform rate, fare, toll,
and compensation for the transportation of passengers and
freight." Other sections provided for establishing, printing, and
posting of all railroad tariffs, and fixed penalties for violations.
In this shape it simply reaffirmed the principles of the common
law on the subject of railroad charges, and came far short of
what the people demanded. It was superseded by subsequent
legislation under the constitution of 1870.
Other laws of public interest were enacted at this session,
as follows: to provide for the appointment of a board of com-
missioners of public chanties and defining their duties and
powers; to erect and carry on an asylum for the insane the
northern; to establish and maintain the southern Illinois normal
university; to fund and provide for paying the railroad debts of
counties, townships, cities, and towns, sometimes referred to
as the "tax-grabbing law." It provided that whenever any
county, township, city, or town had contracted a debt to aid in
the construction of any railroad running near to, into, or
through said locality, the state treasurer should place to the
credit of such county, city, or town, annually, for and during
the term of ten years, all the state taxes collected and paid into
the State treasury on the increased valuation of the taxable
property of said county, city, or town, as shown by the annual
780 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
assessment rolls, over and above the amount of the assessment
roll for 1868 excepting the school and two-mill tax which
funds should be "deemed as pledged and appropriated" to the
payment of the principal and interest of the bonds issued for
the payment of said railroad debt.
It was an ingenious, even if questionable, scheme, which was
supposed to be destined to benefit counties and towns in their
efforts to extend their railroad facilities. The governor inter-
posed his veto to the bill, on the ground that it contemplated
the assumption by the State of the obligation to pay the debts
of counties incurred by individual cities and towns to aid rail-
roads already completed ; and for the additional reason that it
violated the principle of the equality of taxation. The assem-
bly, however, passed it despite the governor's protest. The
amount of bonds filed under the law amounted to over $15,-
000,000 and the State taxes devoted to their payment amounted
to about $60,000 per annum.
The law aroused no little opposition in some portions of the
State, and in 1874, the question of its constitutionality having
been brought before the supreme court, that tribunal sustained
the position of the executive.*
By act of 1875, provision was made for the refunding of the
taxes of 1873, illegally collected under the law.
Another law, which attracted a good deal of attention at the
time, and the controversy over the subject matter of which has
only lately been concluded in the courts, was entitled: "An act
in relation to a portion of the submerged lands and lake-park
grounds lying on and adjacent to the shore of Lake Michigan,
on the eastern frontage of the City of Chicago;" otherwise
known as the "Lake- Front bill."
By this act the State ceded to the City of Chicago, in fee, a
strip of land in section 15, township 39, range 14, lying east of
Michigan Avenue, north of Park Row, south of the south line
of Monroe Street, and west of a line running parallel with and
400 feet east of the west line of said Michigan Avenue, being
a strip of land 400 feet in width, including said avenue, and
comprising about 32 acres known as the Lake- Front Park.
While, however, the city was granted full power and authority
* Ramsey vs. Hoeger, 6 Illinois, 432.
Or iht
Oir
THE LAKE-FRONT LAW. 781
to sell and convey the same, the proceeds of said sale were to
be set aside and to constitute what was termed the Park Fund.
The act also confirmed the property rights of the Illinois-
Central Railroad Company, under the grant from the State in
its charter, and recognized "the riparian ownership incident to
such grant, appropriation, occupancy, use, and control, in and
to the lands submerged, or otherwise lying east of the said line
running parallel with and 400 feet east of the west line of Mich-
igan Avenue in fractional sections 10 and 15, township and range
as aforesaid." The most important clause in the act, however,
was that expressed in the following terms: "All the right and
title of the State of Illinois, in and to the submerged lands
constituting the bed of Lake Michigan, and lying east of the
tracks and breakwater of the Illinois-Central Railroad Company
for the distance of one mile, and between the south line of the
south pier extended eastwardly, and a line extended eastward
from the south line of lot 21, sou.th of and near to the round-
house and machine-shops of said company in the south division
of the said City of Chicago, are hereby granted in fee to the
said Illinois- Central Railroad Company," upon certain condi-
tions and uses. Another important clause was as follows: "All
the right and title of the State in and to the lands, submerged or
otherwise, lying north of the south line of Monroe Street, and
south of the south line of Randolph Street, and between the
east line of Michigan Avenue and the track and roadway of the
Illinois-Central Railroad Company were granted in fee to the
Illinois-Central Railroad Company, the Chicago-Burlington-and
-Quincy Railroad Company, and the Michigan-Central Rail-
road Company," for the erection thereon of a passenger depot,
and for such other purposes as the business of said companies
might require; in consideration of which grant the said rail-
road companies were to pay to the City of Chicago $800,000.
Again the governor interposed his veto. In regard to the
lots sold for depot purposes, he claimed that they were worth
$2,600,000 instead of $800,000. He further took the ground
that the grant to the Illinois-Central Railroad Company of the
submerged lands was not sufficiently defined, nor could it be
easily understood. The company, he said, should moreover be
required to begin the work of improvement within a reasonable
782 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
time; and the net profits derived from improvements made for
the relief of commerce should be limited, and the property
made subject to taxation.
Notwithstanding these well-founded objections and despite
the strong opposition of citizens of Chicago, the bill was passed
over the governor's veto by the constitutional majority.
It was not long before litigation grew out of the enactment
of this law. An injunction was granted by the United-States
circuit-court, restraining the city from releasing, or the railway
companies from occupying, the land granted for depot purposes ;
and so determined and aggressive had become the opposition
to the provisions of the act, that it was repealed by the legisla-
ture of 1873.
The legal controversy was continued in the form of a tri-
angular fight, involving the respective rights of the State, the
railroad company, and the city of Chicago, until February,
1888, when the same were judicially determined in the circuit-
court of the United States for the nothern district of Illinois.
The decision of that tribunal held that the Illinois - Central
Railroad, under grants from the State, acquired title in fee to all
the water-lots in the Fort Dearborn addition to Chicago north
of Randolph Street, and that what had been done by that
company in the way of filling in the lake and constructing
wharves, slips, piers, tracks, and warehouses between the Chicago
River and Randolph Street, as well as its occupancy and use
of the two triangular pieces of ground immediately south of
Randolph Street, were justified by its riparian ownership, by
its charter, and by the city ordinances of 1855-6; that the
structures erected by the company east of the exterior line
designated by the city ordinance of 1852, granting the right of
way, and of those built in 1867 apart from the confirmatory
act of 1869 was justifiable on the ground that they were neces-
sary for the complete operation of the road for the purpose
designated in the charter. Upon the same ground, the court
held, that the structures erected by the company south of Park
Row and north of Sixteenth Street had been legally built,
and its title thereto was confirmed. But the opinion went
further, declaring that even if the court was in error in so
holding, the action of the railroad company in these particu-
DECISION IN THE LAKE-FRONT CASE. 783
lars had been legalized by the confirmatory clause of the third
section of the act of 1869. In regard to the grant of the
submerged lands as described in the third section of the act
of 1869, the court held that the effect of the repealing act of
1873 was to abrogate the cession of the same to the railway
company, and to revoke the additional powers therein con-
ferred upon it, by implication, to construct and maintain
wharves, piers, and docks for the benefit of commerce and
navigation generally, rather than in the prosecution of its
business as defined and limited by its original charter; saving
to the company the right to hold and use, as a part of its
right of way, the small part of the submerged lands, outside its
breakwater of 1869, between Monroe and Washington streets,
extending eastwardly, which had been reclaimed from the lake
in 1873. Such repeal, it was held, was attended by the further
result that while the city of Chicago might, under its charter,
preserve the harbor, prevent obstructions being placed therein,
and make wharves and slips, at the ends of the streets, the
exercise of these powers and the whole subject of the improve-
ment of the harbor by a system of wharves, docks, piers, and
other structures, remained with the State, subject only to the
paramount authority of the United States under the power of
congress to regulate commerce.
In regard to the lot granted to the railroads for depot pur-
poses, it was held that the return to them of the money de-
posited with the comptroller as a condition precedent, at their
request, deprived them of whatever benefit might have accrued
from that tender, "leaving them in the attitude of never having
performed the conditions upon which they were to acquire the
title to these lands. So that the title remains just where it was
before the passage of the act of 1869, namely in the city of
Chicago."
During this session, the question of the completion of the
new state-house again loomed up into prominence. The first
measure introduced making an appropriation for the continuance
of the work failed, but a bill was finally passed, amending
former laws on the subject and appropriating $650,000 for
that purpose.
The fifteenth amendment to the constitution of the United
784 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
States, providing that "The right of citizens of the United
States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States, or by any state, on account of race, color, or previous
condition of servitude," was ratified by a strictly party-vote in
each house on March 5.
It having been decided to call a convention to amend the
constitution, there was a general scramble to take advantage of
the brief period which seemed likely to afford the last oppor-
tunity for the passage of private laws and special acts of incor-
poration. The "third house" was out in force and its members
were influential and aggressive, besides being plethoric of means.
The charge was repeatedly made that money was being used
to procure the passage of certain bills; and the clerk, James P.
Root, reported to the house at one time, that $400 having come
into his possession which he "knew of no law which authorizes
an action in the name of any party to recover," he had dis-
tributed the same among four deserving charities, which he
named; and his action was approved by a unanimous vote of
the body.
The preceding general assembly, as has been shown, had been
by no means backward in special legislation, but the twenty-
sixth was conspicuous above all others for its prodigality in the
passage of bills of a local and private character "as pernicious
in principle, as they were contrary to public policy." They
embraced every conceivable subject, from the incorporation of
private manufacturing concerns, hotels, and banking establish-
ments to the creation of land companies and benevolent loan
associations, whose sole aim was to blossom out into huge
monopolies for private gain.
No less than 1700 private laws were enacted at this session,
filling four large octavo volumes so many, indeed, that when
the legislature had concluded its business on March 1 1, at the
end of the longest session ever held under the constitution of
1848, Gov. Palmer had only been able to examine 300 or them,
and a recess, until April 14, had to be taken to give him time
to read the remaining 1400. This he did with considerable
care, and when the two houses again assembled, he fulminated
his veto against eighty odd of these enactments most of which,
nevertheless, were passed. It was in contemplation of the pro-
STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 785
ceedings of this general assembly that the cynical remark was
made, that "the legislature meets in ignorance, sits in corrup-
tion, and dissolves in disgrace regularly every two years."
A state constitution may be defined to be an authoritative
statement in writing by the people in their sovereign capacity
of those fundamental principles which shall be the absolute rule
of action and decision for all departments of the government
in respect to all subjects and matters covered by it, which must
dominate and control, subject to the constitution of the United
States, until it shall be changed by the authority which estab-
lished it.*
As a criminal code, court-houses, and jails are necessary in the
most free and enlightened communities to preserve order and
secure to the people their personal rights and liberties, so are
the permanent declarations and restrictions of constitutions
necessary to guard against that hasty, inconsiderate, or corrupt
legislation which might arise from the exercise of uncontrolled
power.
The first constitution of Illinois, following those of most of
the older states, was a brief document, in which the powers,
duties, and functions of the legislative, executive, and judicial
departments were concisely defined in eight articles, including
the bill of rights. With the schedule, it covered only fifteen
octavo pages. The law-making power was untrammelled by
any restrictive provisions. It was under this constitution that
the internal-improvement system was passed, under which the
already- recited evils of an enormous state debt were entailed
upon the commonwealth, retarding its growth and embarrassing
its citizens for more than a decade.
Then came the constitution of 1848, which was adopted dur-
ing an era of burdensome public and private obligations, when
property possessed but a nominal value, and before the great
natural resources of the State had been developed or even
imagined. The chief object of its framers was to provide for
an economical administration of the government, to render
comparatively easy the extrication of the commonwealth from
debt, and to guard against the possibility of an increase in the
* Cooley's "Constitutional Limit.," 3; Hitcock's "American State Constitution,'*
8; Webster's "Dictionary."
786 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
public burdens by prohibiting the incurring of any indebted-
ness on account of the State to an amount exceeding $50,000.
It was also deemed best to curtail the power of the legislature
in other directions: the granting of divorces except under general
law was inhibited; extra compensation to public officers was
forbidden ; and the creation of state-banks, or of any corpora-
tion with banking powers, unless the same should be ratified by
the people, was made illegal. Neither was the credit of the
State to be given in aid of any individual, association, or cor-
poration. It was, indeed, provided, article X, that corporations
should not be created by special acts, except and the excep-
tion, as has been seen, proved to be the rule in cases where,
in the judgment of the general assembly, the objects of the
corporation could not be attained under general laws. The
latter provision resembled that other article, which required
every bill to be read on three different days in each house
before its passage, unless, in case of urgency, three-fourths of
the house deemed it expedient to dispense with the rule. The
cases of urgency were found to be as frequent as were the
desires of the members to secure the prompt passage of their
private bills.
Perhaps one reason why, specific restrictions upon legislative
action in the organic law of 1848 were not more numerous was
to be found in the confidence felt in the limitation of the time
of the session to forty- two days and the small compensation
allowed to the members. It was doubtless thought that no
very great amount of mischief could be wrought in so short a
time and that no one would care to stay longer at one dollar per
day for his services.
The reasons for adopting a new constitution at this time, 1869,
were obvious and undisputed, if not imperative. The old instru-
ment had served its day. Under its operations great abuses
had grown up, especially in the direction of special legislation,
as heretofore shown, until, in the language of Gov. Palmer, in
his message of 1871, "the history of the American States pre-
sented no example of a government more defective or vicious
than that of the State of Illinois." Under the constitution of
1848, "the limitations placed upon the powers of the various
governmental departments had become obsolete, so that there
REASONS FOR A NEW CONSTITUTION. 787
remained no effective rule by which their respective responsibili-
ties could be defined or enforced." Legislation thereunder had
grown to be hasty and improvident and the feeling was general
that public and private rights were unsafe. Public officers re-
ceived as a compensation for their services, under authority of
law, sums which were well known to be inconsistent with, and
in violation of, the express provisions of the constitution; and
what were intended by its framers as provisions for an economi-
cal government became in their administration the source of
reckless extravagance. Numerous instances might be cited, but
a few will suffice: the governor's salary of $1500, which was not
to be "increased or diminished," had, for instance, for many
years been made equivalent to $6000 by an appropriation in his
favor of $4500 per annum, "for fuel and lights for the executive
mansion, to defray the expenses of caring for the same, and
keeping the grounds attached thereto in repair." The sum of
"two dollars per day and ten cents for each necessary mile's
travel," as a compensation for forty-two days attendance by the
members upon the sessions of the general assembly, "and no
more," was stretched out to a per diem of seven dollars for a
seventy-four days' session by the twenty-sixth general assembly;
the sum of "$300 for extra expenses" being voted by the mem-
bers to themselves in one fell lump. Other equally illegal
appropriations followed, so that the legislative and executive
expenditures of the State government, which had been $225,121
for the years 1858-60 and $256,878 for 1862-64, had risen
to $617,011 for 1864-66; to $740,304 for 1866-68, and to
$840,360 for 1868-70.
The legislature of 1867 adopted a resolution recommending
that the electors of the State, at the ensuing election of the
members of the general assembly, vote for or against calling a
convention to frame a new constitution for the State. Although
there were but few votes against the proposition, the popular
indifference to the subject was such that it only received a
majority of 704 of all those cast.
Pursuant to a law passed by the twenty-sixth general assem-
bly, the members elect met at Springfield, December 13, 1869
and organized the convention by the election of Charles Hitch-
cock, president; John Q. Harmon, secretary; and Daniel Shep-
788 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
ard first and A. H. Swain second assistants. The roll contained
the names of eighty-five members, of whom, although fifteen
had been elected as independents, forty-four were republicans
and forty-one democrats. It was unquestionably the ablest
deliberative body that ever convened in the State, a majority
of the delegates being men of ripe experience, some on the
bench or at the bar, others in various responsible positions in
public life as congressmen, members of the legislature, and
representatives of the press, while there was a fair sprinkling of
men who had attained distinction in the walks of finance,
agriculture, and trade.*
Where so many were distinguished, it may be invidious to
draw distinctions; yet perhaps it is not too much to say that
the leaders of the body were: Wm. J. and J. C. Allen, Elliott
Anthony, William R. Archer, Reuben M. Benjamin, Orville H.
Browning, Silas L. Bryan, Alfred M. Craig, Samuel P. Cum-
mings, John Dement, Miles A. Fuller, Milton Hay, S. Snowden
Hayes, Jesse S. Hildrup, Joseph Medill, Samuel C. Parks,
Edward Y. Rice, Lewis W. Ross, John Scholfield, Onias C.
Skinner, William H. Snyder, William H. Underwood, Henry
W. Wells, and George R. Wendling.
Naturally, when the convention had fairly commenced work,
its attention was primarily directed toward correcting the evils
which had grown up in the legislative branch of the government
under the old instrument. In this direction, many important
changes were effected, which experience had proved to be
desirable and many of which have been since adopted
in other states. Not only is all special legislation prohibited in
general terms where a general law can be made applicable, but
in addition to the subjects of lotteries and divorces, which had
been the only ones specifically named in the former instrument,
twenty-two new items are especially enumerated, in regard to
which, no local or special law should be passed. Included among
these are roads, names of persons and places; vacating towns
* A complete list of these names will be found with the constitution of 1870 in
the Appendix. Occupations: 53 were lawyers, 14 farmers, 13 merchants, bankers,
and traders, 4 physicians, I editor. By birth, 19 were from New York, 17 from
New England, n from Illinois, n from Ohio, 12 from Kentucky and Tennessee,
5 from Virginia and Maryland, 4 from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, 2 from Indi-
ana, and 4 from England and Scotland.
Of Iht
UX'.VRSITY Of ILUK9IS
THE CONSTITUTION OF l8/O. 789
and alleys; county-seats; township affairs; practice in courts;
justices-of-the-peace and constables; changes of venue; incor-
porating towns or cities; elections of supervisors; juries; com-
mon schools; interest; elections; sale of real estate of minors;
protection of game or fish; ferries or toll- bridges; remitting
fines, penalties, or forfeitures; changing fees of public officers
during the term for which elected; the law of descent; railroad
charters; the granting to any corporation, association, or indi-
vidual any special or exclusive privileges. It was under some
one of these heads that the great bulk of private acts passed
by the preceding legislature might be included.
The general assembly was also prohibited from releasing or
discharging any county, city, township, town, or district from
its proportionate share of taxes levied for state purposes; it
should not impose taxes upon municipal corporations for cor-
porate purposes; neither should it have power to release or
extinguish the indebtedness of any corporation or individual to
the state, or any municipal corporation therein.
Thus far, nothing original had Veen attempted, nearly all of
the prohibited subjects for legislative action having been in-
cluded in the same article in the constitution of Indiana in
1851, and in the revised constitutions of Maryland in 1864,
Missouri in 1865, and Florida in 1868.
While, however, the restrictive provisions of the constitution
of 1870 are more extensive and complete than those engrafted
upon the fundamental law of any other state prior to the time
of its enactment, the preeminently distinguishing feature of that
instrument is to be found in the new departure made in com-
manding the legislature to enact laws upon certain subjects
specifically designated. These were : for the protection of
miners; for the construction of drains; liberal homestead and
exemption laws; and, yet still more important, in regard to cor-
porations, railroads being declared public highways, and the gen-
eral assembly being directed to pass laws regulating the same
and to establish reasonable maximum rates of charges for the
transportation of passengers and freight thereby. Another
original and important article was that relating to elevators and
storehouses, declaring them to be public warehouses, defining
the obligations and responsibilities of their owners, and provid-
79O ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
ing for their regulation by legislative authority. The same
article also directs the general assembly to pass laws for the
inspection of grain, "for the protection of producers, shippers,
and receivers of grain and produce."
The adoption of these mandatory provisions was opposed by
the leading lawyers of the convention, who contended, strenu-
ously, that they were properly subjects exclusively for consider-
ation by the legislature, which needed no prompting, and that
the incorporation of such provisions into the fundamental law was
ill-advised. Their adoption, however, was demanded by many
and numerously - signed petitions, which were supplemented
by agitation on the part of the agricultural community, out of
which ultimately grew the celebrated "granger" legislation with
its resultant litigation in the courts.
Such was the condition of the public mind on the subject of
the alleged extortions and unjust discriminations of railroads
and the unfair treatment to which farmers were subjected by
handlers of produce, that the legislation required by these
mandatory provisions, in the direction of curing the evils com-
plained of, would have followed whether they had been incor-
porated in the instrument or not. But what would have been
the result in case the succeeding legislature had been antag-
onistic to the policy thus marked out for it to pursue, and had
refused to pass the laws required, is an open question which
did not present itself. Of course the members would take
the prescribed oath to support the constitution, but, having
before them the example of Gen. Jackson, who claimed the
right, as president, to interpret the constitution of the United
States for himself, each one might place a different construction
upon the duties required and no resulting action follow. A
constitutional enactment can confer no power upon the legisla-
ture which it does not already possess, neither could penalties
be enforced against a member for non-compliance with its
requirements any more than against a juror who, having taken
an oath to well and truly try the issue joined in a given case,
fails to agree with his fellow-jurors upon a verdict. The utmost
that can be done against a legislator whose action has tended
to defeat a mandatory provision of the constitution, even
though it has been endorsed and ratified by the people, is to
THE CONSTITUTION OF iS/O. 791
refer his conduct back to his constituents for such future action
as may be deemed advisable.
By the action of this convention, the State of Illinois, for the
first time, followed the example of several other states in making
the establishment and maintenance of "an efficient system of
public schools" by the general assembly a constitutional require-
ment. Indeed it went much farther than most states in declar-
ing that neither the legislature nor any city, town, or district
should ever make any appropriation from the public fund in aid
of any church or sectarian purpose, or to help support or sustain
any school, academy, or college controlled by any church or
sectarian denomination.
Besides the foregoing, the new instrument contained the fol-
lowing original provisions: declaring that the Illinois- Central
Railroad should never be released from its obligation or liability
to the State under its charter; that the Illinois-and-Michigan
Canal should never be sold or leased without a vote of the
people authorizing the same; prohibiting any city, town, or
other municipality from ever becoming a subscriber to the capi-
tal stock of any railroad or private corporation; establishing
the principle of minority representation, under the operation of
which each elector may cast as many votes for one candidate
for the general assembly as there are representatives to be
chosen in any one senatorial district, or may distribute the
same, or equal parts thereof, among such candidates as he
may prefer. The same principle is extended also to the election
of directors or managers of incorporated companies in this State.
This innovation upon former methods of electing representa-
tives originated with John Stuart Mill the eminent English
sociologist and was fathered in the convention by Joseph
Medill, for so many years the able and distinguished editor of
the Chicago Tribune.
Under the old constitution, there was a period when nearly
all the representatives in the legislature from the southern por-
tion of the State were democrats, and all from the northern,
republicans. Under this provision, representatives from both
parties could be elected from all portions of the State. Although
efforts have been made to adopt the same principle in other
states, they have not succeeded, except that in its application
792 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
to the election of directors by corporations it has been adopted
in the states of Pennsylvania, Nebraska, California, West Vir-
ginia, and Missouri.
The constitution of 1870 also interposed more effective bar-
riers against the inconsiderate passage of bills. The require-
ment that every bill shall be read at large on three different
days can not be dispensed with by a three-fourths vote as in
the former constitution, and all bills and amendments are
required to be printed before the vote is taken on their final
passage; only one subject can be embraced in each bill. These
provisions have been strictly complied with and have been
effective in preventing an untold amount of hasty, ill-considered,
and fraudulent legislation.
In the oath required to be taken by the members of the
general assembly, an obligation against bribery is substituted
for that against duelling, prescribed in the constitution of
1848 the latter practice having "fallen into innocuous desue-
tude" as the "code" waned in influence before the advance of a
higher civilization.
In the administration of the executive department some
radical changes were made: the restrictive provision which
rendered a governor ineligible to reelection for a second consec-
utive term was omitted; the influence of the veto power was
extended by requiring a two-thirds vote of both houses to over-
ride the objections of the executive, instead of a bare majority
as before. An attorney-general and a superintendent of public
instruction were added to the list of state-officers.
In the judicial department, in addition to the supreme and
circuit -courts already established the bench of the former
being increased by the addition of four judges appellate and
county-courts of record were provided for.
Other changes, as important as they were judicious, consisted
in leaving the compensation allowed to members of the general
assembly, the governor and other state-officers, and judges to
be fixed by the legislature; and in providing for the readjust-
ment and regulation of the fees and salaries of county-officers.
The reasons for this step have been already indicated.
Another alteration, the reason of which is not so apparent,
was that which left the sessions of the general assembly un-
TABLE OF STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 793
limited as to length. As will be seen by reference to the
following table, a majority of states have thought it wise to
adopt a different rule.
The first general assembly the twenty-seventh which con-
vened after the adoption of the new constitution held one regular,
two special, and one adjourned session, extending in all over
three hundred days. While much extraordinary work was
thrown upon the body by the new instrument under which they
were acting, it must be admitted that the time consumed in
doing it was unnecessarily prolonged, entailing great expense
upon the State.
The next legislature, with the labor of completing the revi-
sion of the statutes on their hands, continued in session 204
days; and since then, with the exception of the 100 days' session
of the twenty-ninth, the sessions have been continued from 140
to 170 days.
With all power of special legislation taken away and the
passage of general laws covering every conceivable subject of
legislative action, there does not seem to be any good reason
for these long sessions, exceeding those of nearly every other
state. It may be questioned whether there has been a session
of the general assembly since the twenty-ninth, where the work
could not have been just as well accomplished in 100 days.
As a matter of fact, if allowance be made for the absenteeism
of members without loss of pay which has not infrequently
amounted to two and three days per week, the actual work has
been performed in a much less time than that.
These unnecessarily protracted sessions tend not only to open
the door of corruption and greatly to increase the rate of taxa-
tion, but also to deter the better class of citizens from seeking
or accepting seats in a body, service in which requires so great
a sacrifice of time that they might more profitably employ in
their ordinary business or professional avocations.
The people generally express their satisfaction when the
legislature adjourns, and congratulate themselves upon their
escape from the possibility of legislative evils for at least two
years to come.
Forty-eight new constitutions have been proposed since the
rebellion, forty three of which were prepared by regular con-
51
794
ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
ventions. Eighteen of these were reconstruction instruments,
of which eleven only were adopted and approved by congress.
Of the thirty others, three were rejected, leaving twenty-seven
new constitutions adopted since 1864, exclusive of those in the
reconstruction states.
The annexed, comparative table of the constitutions of the
several states will be found as useful for reference as it is inter-
esting:
LEGISLATIVE
EXECUTIYB
JUDICIAL
. B
C Si " M
Si 5
State
Date* of Constitution*
Sessions
~ *
- X
Pay
Ilil
eg
i i
Elected or
El
Last One in Force
's,
How Fixed
?
- 1 -
lei
f& ""* V
Appointed by
Ala.
1819, '65, '67, '75
biennial
50
Const. $4
full
2
majority
the people
6
Ark
1836, '64, '68, '74
biennial
60
law
full
2
majority
the people
8
Cal.
1849, 1879
biennial
9
law
full
4
%
the people
12
Col.
1875
biennial
40
law
full
2
%.
the people
9
Conn.
1776, 1818*
annual
law
none
I
majority
legislature
8
Dela.
1776, 1792, 1831*
biennial
law
none
4
no veto
governor
life
Fla,
1838, 1865, 1868
biennial
60
C., $500
full
4
%
governor
life
Ga.
1777, '89, 1865, '68
annual
40
law
partial
4
%
governor
12
Idaho,
1889
biennial
60
c.,$ s
full
2
%
the people
6
111.
1818, 1848, 1870*
biennial
law
full
4
%
the people
9
Ind.
1816, 1851*
biennial
61
law
full
4
majority
the people
6
Iowa,
1846, 1857*
biennial
law
full
2
%
the people
6
Kan.
1855, '57. '58, '59*
annual
5
C, $150
partial
2
%.
the people
6
Ky.
1792, 1799, 1850*
biennial
60
law
partial
4
majority
the people
8
La.
1812, '45, '52, '64, '68
annual
60
law
partial
4
%
governor
8
Maine,
1820*
annual
law
partial
i
%
the people
4
Md.
1776, 1851. '64, '67
biennial
9
C., $5
full
4
%
the people
15
Mass.
1780*
annual
law
none
I
gov. and council
life
Mich.
1835. 1850*
biennial
C.,$ 3
none
2
%
the people
8
Minn.
1857*
annual
law
none
2
%
the people
7
Miss.
1817, 1832, 1868
annual
law
partial
4
%
governor
9
Mo.
1820, '45. '65, '75
biennial
7
law
full
4
%
the people
10
Mont.
1889
biennial
60
C,, $6
full
4
%
the people
6
Neb.
1866, 1875
biennial
40
C,$ 3
full
2
3/c
the people
6
Nev.
1864
biennial
60
law
full
4
%
the people
6
N. H.
1776, 1792*
biennial
law
none
2
%
gov. and council
life
N.j.
1776, 1844*
annual
C., $500
full
3
majority
governor
7
N.Y.
1777, 1821, 1846*
annual
C. $1500
full
3
%
the people
14
N. C.
1776, 1868, 1876
biennial
60
C,$ 4
partial
4
no veto
the people
8
N. D.
1889
biennial
60
C.,$ 5
full
2
%
the people
6
Ohio,
1803, 1851*
biennial
k~
w
partial
2
no veto
the people
5
Ore.
1857*
biennial
40
C., $3
full
4
%
the people
6
Penn.
1776, '90, 1838, '73
biennial
law
full
4
%
the people
21
R.I.
1663, 1842*
annual
C., $i
none
i
no veto
legislature
life
S.C.
1776, '78, '90, 1865, '68
annual
C, $6
partial
2
%
legislature
6
S. D.
1889
biennial
60
C., $5
full
2
%
the people
4
Tenn.
1796, 1834, 1870
biennial
75
C.,$4
full
2
majority
the people
8
Texas,
1843, '66. '68, 76
biennial
60
law
full
2
#
the people
6
Vt.
1777. 1786, 1793*
biennial
__
law
none
2
majority
legislature
2
Va.
1776, 1830/50, '64/70
biennial
90
law
partial
4
%
legislature
12
Wash.
1889
biennial
60
C, $5
full
4
ft.
the people
4
W. Va.
1862, 1872
biennial
40
C.,$4
full
4
majority
the people
12
Wis.
1848*
biennial
C. $500
full
2
U
the people
6
Wyo.
1889
biennial
40
C., $5
full
4
%
the people
8
* Amended.
PERIOD VII. UNDER THE CONSTITUTION
OF 1870.
CHAPTER XLII.
Gov. Palmer's Administration [Continued] State Conven-
tions, Nominations, and Elections of 1870 Twenty-
seventh General Assembly Election of Gen. Logan
to the Senate Laws Recess and Reassembling of
the Legislature Chicago Fire Controversy between
Governor Palmer and Mayor Mason The Liberal-
Republican Party Presidential Nominations and
Elections of 1872.
TLLINOIS, in 1870, had advanced in population from the
JL position of the eleventh her rank in 1860 to that of the
fourth in the sisterhood of states. Within the decade, over
1,000,000 acres had been added to her fields of wheat whose
annual yield was 27,115,000 bushels, while her acerage of
golden corn had risen from 4,000,000 to 6,000,000 producing
200,000,000 bushels. Property, as listed for taxation at only
about a fourth of its value, which amounted in 1860 to $367,-
227,742, now footed up $480,664,058. The actual valuations,
more correctly estimated in the census returns, showed the pro-
digious increase of 138 per cent, having risen from $871,860,282
to $2,121,680,579. Then she had 2727 miles of railroad, valued
for taxation at $12,085,472; now, the returns showed the
remarkable increase of 1906 miles with a valuation of $19,242,-
141. Her state-debt, which in 1860 was $10,300,000, had been
reduced to $4,890,937, and there were sufficient funds in the
state -treasury, available for the purpose, to extinguish nearly
one-half of it.
Her principal cities had kept pace with this marvellous
growth, showing an increase as follows: Aurora from 60 II in
1860, to 11,162; Bloomington, 7075, to 14,590; Galesburg,
4953 to 10,158; Jacksonville, 5528 to 9203; Peoria, 14,045 to
22,849; Quincy, 13,718 to 24,052; Rockford, 6,979 to 11,049;
795
796 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Springfield, 9320 to 17,364; and last of all, with the most
gigantic strides toward the first rank of American cities, the
population of Chicago had increased from 112,172 to 298,977
a growth unparalleled by any of the great cities of the Union.
Although 1870 was what is commonly designated as an "off
year" in politics, there was no lack of activity in political
circles. At the republican state-convention, held in Springfield,
Sept. i, 1870, Gen. Logan was renominated for congressman-at-
large, and Gen. Bates for state treasurer, both by acclamation.
Newton Bateman was also renominated for superintendent of
public instruction on the first ballot. Elmer Washburn and
Casper Butz received the nomination for commissioners of the
penitentiary.
The platform reported by the committee on resolutions, of
which Horace White was chairman, contained at least two
remarkable planks. After heartily endorsing the administra-
tion of Gen. Grant and congratulating the people upon the
adoption of a new constitution, the following deliverance was
made upon the subject of internal revenue and the tariff: "That
it is wrongful and oppressive for congress to enact revenue laws
for the special advantage of one branch of business at the
expense of another; and that the best system of protection
to industry is that which imposes the lightest burdens and the
fewest restrictions on the property and business of the people."
The other extraordinary resolution related to the removal of the
national capital and ran as follows: "That as the natural and
inevitable place for the capital of the republic is in the heart
of the Mississippi Valley, and as its removal from its present
inconvenient and exposed locality is only a question of time;
we oppose all further expenditure of public money for the
enlargement of old government - buildings or the erection of
new ones as a useless waste of the treasury of the people."
No republican state-convention has ever gone so far in the
direction of a tariff for revenue merely; and the project for the
removal of the capital received its first and only favorable
mention at this convention.
At the democratic state-convention, which met at Springfield,
September 14, Gen. Wm. B. Anderson was nominated for con-
gressman-at-large; Charles Ridgely for treasurer, Charles Feinz
STATE CONVENTIONS, 1870. 797
for superintendent of public instruction ; and Frank T. Sher-
man and Thomas Redmon for penitentiary commissioners.
Melville W. Fuller was chairman of the committee on resolu-
tions, which reported a platform, that was unanimously adopted
and whose provisions were substantially as follows: demanding
the overthrow of the party in power because of its committal
to the policy of the destruction of the rights of the states;
because of its policy of protection and its onerous and aggra-
vating system of internal revenue; "because it is extravagant,
wasteful, and corrupt," and "being destitute of principle is held
together solely by the cohesive power of public plunder." It
declared, "That the present administration of state affairs has
been more reckless in the expenditure of public money than
any that ever exercised the power of the State. On the subject
of the tariff, it was unmistakably outspoken, as follows: "That
we are in favor of free*trade on principle, and while conced-
ing the legality of a tariff for revenue simply, we denounce a
protective tariff as not authorized under the federal constitu-
tion, as destructive to the best interests of the people, and as
enriching the few at the expense of the many."
The republicans carried the State, as usual, but by a consider-
ably-reduced majority, that of Logan, who received the largest
vote of all the candidates, being 24,672. A prohibition state-
ticket, the first side issue of the kind since the days of the
old liberal party, received 3756 votes.
The twenty-seventh general assembly convened Jan. 4, 1871.
It not only held more and longer sessions but had a larger
membership than any previous legislature of the State. It was
composed of 50 senators and 177 representatives of whom 75
were democrats. Being considered too large a body for con-
venient accommodation in the state-house, the senate occupied
the hall formerly used by the house and the latter body sat* in
the audience-room of the Second Presbyterian Church, then
recently erected, which had been fitted up for the occasion.
In the senate, there were only eleven members holding over,
Messrs. Casey, VanDorston, Flagg, Harlan, McNulta, Nichol-
son, Epler, Strevell, Snapp, Crawford, and Dore. The following
had been reflected : Messrs. Boyd, Fuller, Shepard, and Tincher.
J. F. Alexander, Wm. H. Underwood, Lewis Solomon, John
798 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Landrigan, James M. Washburn, Wm. B. Anderson, Charles
Voris, Alexander Starne, Edward Laning, Charles W. Marsh,
Winfield S. Wilkinson, Lorenzo D. Whiting, Wallace A. Little,
had formerly occupied seats in the house, and Wm. Reddick in
the senate. Among the members serving for the first time were
Mark Bangs, James K. Edsall, John Early, John N. Jewett,
Willard Woodward, John L. Beveridge, and J. Merrick Bush.
A still smaller number of former members was returned to
this than the preceding house, only 16 in all; namely: George
W. Armstrong, Newton Cloud, Philip Collins, Samuel P. Cum-
mings, Robert H. Foss, Calvin H. Frew, Addison Goodell,
Elijah M. Raines, Thomas E. Merritt, James R. Miller, Milton
M. Morrill, Wm. R. Morrison, Timothy M. Morse, Wm. H.
Neece, William M. Smith, Thomas J. Turner, and Halstead H.
Townsend. William Gary, Jesse S. Hildrup, and William M.
Springer had been members of the late constitutional conven-
tion. Among other new members may be mentioned: William
A. Lemma, George W. Herdman, Thomas H. Boyd, James M.
Riggs,* William H. Barnes, John C. Short, Maurice Kelley,
Edward R. Roe, John S. Lee, Levi North, James Shaw the
delegates from Cook County being Henry W. Austin, Hardin
B. Brayton, Augustus Harris Burley, Richard P. Derrickson,
James L. Campbell, Arthur Dixon, Wiley M Egan, John D.
Easter, Andrew J. Galloway, John W. Heafield, John Humph-
rey, William H. King, Carlisle Mason, Simon D. Phelps, James
P. Root, Henry C. Senne, William K. Sullivan, William Vocke,
Horace F. Waite, Rollin S. Williamson.-f-
William M. Smith of McLean County was elected speaker
* Mr. Riggs represented Scott County; he was elected to the forty -eighth and
forty- ninth congresses, and is a grandson of Scott Riggs, who was a member of the
first general assembly of Illinois and who died in Scott County, Feb. 24, 1872, at
the age of ninety-three years. He was a native of North Carolina and removed to
Crawford County, Illinois, in 1815, and in 1825 to Scott County, an honored and
influential pioneer.
+ Occupation of senators : lawyers 22, farmers IO, merchants 5, physicians 2,
bankers 2, agents and mechanics 9. Nativity: New York 14, New England 7,
Pennsylvania 5, Kentucky and Tennessee 5, Ohio 7, Illinois 4, Indiana 2, foreigners 6.
House: farmers 62, lawyers 61, merchants 21, bankers 6, manufacturers 5, physi-
cians 4, agents 4, ministers and engineers 2 each; retired, et cetera 10. Nativity:
New York 33, Illinois 27, Ohio 21, New England 19, Pennsylvania 13, Indiana 6,
Kentucky 20, Virginia and Tennessee 8, foreigners 1 7, other 13.
P
. JLcrS
iHt
OF IMfc
OF
GEN. LOGAN ELECTED U.-S. SENATOR. 799
of the house, his opponent being ex-Speaker William R. Morri-
son; the vote on his election stood 101 to 75. Daniel Shepard
was chosen clerk of the house and E. H. Griggs secretary of
the senate.
The governor's message, an able, comprehensive, but some-
what lengthy, document, was delivered on January 6.
The election of a United-States senator, to succeed ex-Gov.
Yates, was fixed for January 17. The contest for nomination
by the dominant party between the two principal aspirants
was conducted in a perfectly friendly spirit, and the caucus
was harmonious. Gen. Logan, in accepting the nomination as
congressman-at-large, had frankly declared before the conven-
tion that he did so with the express understanding that the
position should not interfere with his candidacy for the senate.
The friends of General Oglesby were of opinion, however, that
the honor was due to him and they made an ardent canvass
but without success the vote in the caucus standing 98 for
Logan to 23 for Oglesby and 8 for Koerner.
The democrats conferred the honor of their suffrages upon
Col. Thomas J. Turner. The vote in the senate was, Logan 32,
Turner 18; in the house, Logan 99, Turner 71, and William H.
Snyder 2.
Gen. John Alexander Logan had long before this attained a
national reputation by reason of his services in the war of the
rebellion and as a member of congress. He was the most
successful and distinguished of all the volunteer generals in the
Union army who served from the beginning to the end of the
war. He had not exercised an independent command, but as a
division and corps commander, he had made a record conspicu-
ous for good judgment, coolness, and daring.
Having before the war been an active, uncompromising demo-
crat in the southern portion of the State, where he was born
and raised, and where anything savoring of abolitionism was
held in the greatest abhorrence, his early and determined stand
for the Union against secession was as beneficial to the country
as it was unexpected. Such was his popularity and influence
in the district which he then represented in congress that had
he, as indeed it was falsely charged he intended to do, cast
in his lot with the South he might have taken with him an army
80O ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
of no mean proportions. But he having ranged himself on the
side of the Union, a large majority of his old friends and
neighbors followed his example; and no regiments from any
portion of the State fought more fiercely or victoriously than
those from "Egypt."
When the war was over the current of events had carried him
into the ranks of the republican party, as whose candidate he
had been continuously reflected to congress ever since he laid
aside the sword. His career in congress had been characterized
by a zealous and unfaltering support of the reconstruction
measures introduced and championed by the republican party.
He had taken a prominent part in advocating all the constitu-
tional amendments and been active in upholding those measures
of financial and internal policy for which his party had con-
tended. Without his untiring aid, the republicans would never
have succeeded in carrying the twelfth and thirteenth congress-
ional districts under the old, or the sixteenth and eighteenth
districts under the new apportionments.
While destitute of that learning and polish which are generally
derived from a scholastic training, he possessed a fertility of
resources joined to a quickness of perception and a dogged per-
sistence which stood him in better stead in the turmoil of
public life than did the refinement of culture and grace of
diction of more than one of his college-bred compeers. These
qualities earned for him the distinction of being one of the
strongest and most effective stump-speakers in the State.
Possessing neither the logical power of Douglas, the legal
ability of Palmer, the eloquence of Yates, nor the invective of
Oglesby, he was endowed with a certain intellectual dash and
force of character which enabled him to appeal to the people
with a directness, a power of personal conviction, and a vigor of
illustration which challenged the attention and admiration, even
if it did not always command the approval, of his audiences.
These qualities were conspicuously exemplified in his debate
with Col. Dickey. While the latter enjoyed the advantage of
a superior mental equipment, the general was always able to
carry the crowd with him and to bear off the popular honors
of the discussion.
When it is remembered that the general's public and private
REVISION OF THE LAWS. 801
life were alike irreproachable, that as soldier and civilian his
character was unsmirched, the honor conferred upon him in his
election to the United-States senate may be regarded as simply
a recognition of his ability as a leader and his worth as a man.
Under a law of the preceding legislature, Harvey B. Hurd r
Michael Schaeffer, and William E. Nelson had been constituted
a board to revise the public laws, and required to report to the
twenty- seventh general assembly. The adoption of the new
constitution had rendered it impracticable for the commissioners
to draft and complete an entire code and they had been
instructed by the judiciary committees of both houses to prepare
bills to be acted upon separately. Nelson having been elected
to a seat in the house, the work devolved upon the other two
members after the meeting of the legislature. The commission
accordingly from time to time reported for legislative action
bills of revision for various laws. It also assisted in framing
some new statutes. Those measures whose passage was required
by the new constitution, regarding the regulation of railroads
and warehouses, first claimed attention.
The proposition of the governor at the previous session, as
stated in his veto of the bill "establishing fixed rates for railroads,"
that a railroad charter "in all essential circumstances takes upon
itself the qualities of a contract, and at that instant passes from
legislative and becomes subject to judicial control," that such a
contract can not be impaired; and that "what is reasonable
for the transportation of passengers under any given circum-
stances, must, in the nature of things, be dependent upon facts
that can be investigated only in tribunals organized for that
purpose," was now restated in his message, in the following
form: "The denial that the State has the power, acting through
the appropriate department as determined by its constitution,
to control the management of railway corporations and to
regulate the rates imposed by them as public common carriers
so as to prevent extortion, oppression, favoritism, and unjust
discriminations against or in favor of localities and individuals
or to investigate their management and prevent the employ-
ment of the vast sums of money under their control for the
purpose of corruption is to assert that a power has grown up
in the State greater than the State itself, and makes an issue
S02 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
that the representatives of a free people can not, without the
most palpable disregard of their duty, avoid."
The new measures on this subject were promptly taken up in
the senate and passed. These were as follows: to establish a
board of railroad-and-warehouse commissioners, passed Feb. 13;
an act to prevent unjust discriminations and extortions in the
rates to be charged by the different railroads in this State,
passed March 3.
Large bodies move slowly. Both parties in the house seemed
to lack distinct aggressive leadership. Refusing to agree with
the senate in its bill establishing reasonable maximum rates of
railroad charges, on January 30, that body substituted for it one
of its own which was passed, March 21. The other bills from
the senate were not finally acted upon until just before the
adjournment. There was no controversy over either of these
measures, one of them passing the senate with no votes recorded
against it, while the number of negative votes in the house did
not on either measure exceed ten.
The only one of the laws reported by the revision commission
adopted at this session, was that relating to attachments. In
addition to the usual appropriations, however, a few new laws
of importance were passed, as follows: to create a department
of agriculture; to make the Illinois Eye-and-Ear Infirmary at
Chicago a state institution the trustees having transferred their
property to the State for this purpose; and to provide for the
construction and protection of drains, ditches, and levees.
The limitation as to the length of the sessions of the general
assembly having been removed, the impression seemed to be
that they were to last as long as the convenience of the mem-
bers might dictate. On April 7, it was resolved by the house,
and afterward concurred in by the senate, that the general
assembly should take a recess from April 17 to November 15.
In anticipation of this action, the mayor and common council
of Chicago, backed up by a meeting of the citizens, invited
the legislature to hold its adjourned session in that city,
guaranteeing that "ample and suitable provision should be
made for the accommodation of both houses of the legislature
and the executive, free of expense to the State." Extraordinary
as the proposition was, involving in effect the removal of the
oG ,
tHi
Of IHt
: RSITY 0? IIUH01
PROPOSED REMOVAL OF THE CAPITAL. 803
state - capital and being in violation of an express statute
declaring that all sessions of the general assembly should be
holden at Springfield, such was the temper of the members in
relation to pending legislation and such their local surroundings,
that it was carried in the house by a vote of 97 to 44 and in
the senate by 22 to 18. Nineteen senators filed a protest, setting
forth, at length, their reasons for opposing this action. Both
houses adjourned for the seven months' recess on April 17.
The subject which 1 excited the greatest interest and strong-
est feeling at this session, and which doubtless largely influ-
enced the action above mentioned, was that of the removal of
the capital, which question had been again reopened by the
introduction of a bill appropriating $600,000 to carry forward
'the work on the new building. Opposition to its passage sprang
up, as extensive and powerful as it was unlocked for. The city
of Peoria came forward with a proposition to remove the seat of
government to that city offering to reimburse the State the
amount already expended over $800,000 to donate an eligible
and attractive plat of ground, containing ten acres, as a site for
a new building, and to furnish free of rent for five years accom-
modations for the meetings of the general assembly. The offer
was so munificient, and so lavish was the hospitality extended
to the members who had accepted an invitation to make a free
excursion to the proposed new capital and see for themselves
the advantages of the suggested location, that a sentiment in
favor of removal was developed which proved as formidable as
it was persistent. The fight was made against the appropria-
tion bill, which must be first defeated, and so successfully was
it conducted that the recess was reached without the appro-
priation being made.
Not only had this measure failed, but others equally impor-
tant, which demanded early action, among them that providing
for the ordinary and contingent expenses of the state govern-
ment, as well as those fixing the salaries of the judges of the
circuit - courts and regulating the compensation by fees or by
salaries of all state, county, and township officers; and provid-
ing for the government and management of the state penitenti-
ary. The expenses of this institution had exceeded its revenue,
and it was largely in debt. Its management had been the
804 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
subject of investigation, and whether it was better to adopt the
lease system or one of State control were questions calling for
serious and early consideration.
The members had hardly had time to salute their families
and friends at home before they were confronted by the gover-
nor's proclamation calling the general assembly to meet in special
session on May 24, to consider the subjects above mentioned
with others enumerated in the call. Although the question of
the power of the executive to call a special session during a
legal interregnum of the legislature had been raised by leading
newspapers, the legality of his action was not questioned by
the body itself.
The governor, in his message, took ground in favor of state
control of the labor of the convicts in the penitentiary, remark-
ing that: "The only practicable system for the successful man-
agement of the penitentiary, in my judgment, is that which
combines the retention of complete control of the discipline
and government of the convicts with the lease of their labor to
persons engaged in special pursuits." The governor's views
were adopted in the bill which passed.
In regard to the state capital, the governor strongly favored
retaining Springfield as the seat of government and the passage
of the appropriation for the completion of the state -house.
He contended that the great body of the people took but very
little interest in the disputes over the question of location; that
while there were many places which offered nearly, if not quite,
equal advantages with Springfield, the tax -payers would not
be willing to lose the million of dollars already expended nor
to the waste of the four years consumed in the construction
of the present building without any hope of advantage. Never-
theless, this measure continued to be the absorbing topic of
discussion from the time of the convening of the special session
until the vote was reached, at ten o'clock on the night of June
7, when the bill finally passed the house by a vote of 100 to 74.
It met with equally good fortune in the senate the day follow-
ing and became a law. Nor does it seem probable that any
further effort will be made to remove the capital from the home
of Abraham Lincoln.
Other laws were passed at the special session, as follows:
STATE CONVENTION OF 1 8/1. 8O$
an act to compensate members, officers, and employe's of the
general assembly; for park purposes, to enable corporate towns
to levy a tax to improve public parks and boulevards, and
regulating the duty of park-commissioners; to provide for the
ordinary and contingent expenses of the state government.
Other subjects, however, the consideration of which was
recommended in the governor's proclamation, namely, the
regulation of fees and salaries; in regard to eminent domain;
and to amend the revenue laws, were left untouched. The
special session adjourned June 22.
Gen. Logan having been elected to the senate, a republican
state-convention was convened at Springfield, Sept. 20, 1871,
to nominate his successor as congressman-at-large. Gen. John
L. Beveridge carried off the prize on the first formal ballot and
was elected the democrats having nominated Samuel Snowden
Hayes as his opponent at their convention held on October 4
by 19,000 majority. The election being a special one, a full
vote was not called out.
The second special session convened October 13. The occa-
sion necessitating the gathering of the general assembly at
that time was the great Chicago holocaust of 1871 which
calamitous event occurred October 8 and 9 of that year. The
entire area burned over in the city, including streets, covered
2124 acres, on which stood 18,000 buildings, of which 13,500
were consumed; the dwelling places of 100,000 citizens were
destroyed, 92,000 persons being rendered homeless. The loss
of life was estimated at 250 the remains of 107 bodies hav-
ing been collected and buried by the coroner. The total
pecuniary loss reached the sum of $187,927,000. The State
being powerless to afford direct aid to the stricken city, an act
was passed redeeming the canal from the lien thereon for the
cost of its improvement by Chicago, and the amount of the
same, $2,955,340, was appropriated to reimburse that city for
the amount so expended.
An interesting episode, growing out of this great calamity,
was the controversy which sprang up between Gov. Palmer on
the one hand, and Col. R. B Mason, then mayor of Chicago,
and the United-States authorities on the other, in regard to the
employment of federal troops under command of Gen. Philip
806 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
H. Sheridan to preserve order and protect the lives and prop-
erty of the citizens. The mayor invoked such assistance and
his action in this regard was warmly resented by the governor
as an illegal, unwarrantable, and unnecessary interference with
the rights and prerogatives of the State.
Col. Thomas W. Grosvenor having been fatally shot by one
of the cadets in a regiment of United-States troops organized
to act as guards, for refusing to give the countersign while on
his way home, the governor addressed letters to the attorney
general and to the state's attorney of Cook County, in which
he strongly animadverted upon what he termed the lawless
acts of those who had "attacked and insulted the dignity and
authority of the State," and demanded that not only the
soldier who inflicted the wound upon Col. Grosvenor, but also
Gen. Sheridan, Mayor Mason, and Col. Frank T. Sherman, who
commanded the regiment, should be indicted and tried for
murder.
The conduct of Mayor Mason, during the trying period of
the fire, had been characterized by prompt and vigorous action,
as well as humanity and courage. On Monday morning he
had proceeded directly to his office in the court-house, and
having leared the extent of the fire he telegraphed to Milwau-
kee, Joliet, Springfield, and Detroit for fire-engines; and then
issued an order to the fire- marshal for the blowing up of build-
ings. He remained in the old court-house building until it took
fire and the roof fell in; after issuing an order for the release
of the prisoners in jail, whose lives were then threatened, he
endeavored to reach the lake shore, but was unable to get
through either Randolph, Lake, or South-Water Streets. He
then turned back and crossed the Wells -Street bridge and
from thence, over Rush-Street bridge, he reached Michigan
Avenue. He next personally directed the tearing down and
blowing up of buildings on Wabash Avenue and Harrison
Street, by which the progress of the fire in that direction was
ultimately checked. It was not in the power of human agencies
to put out the flames so fierce was the wind, nor stop its advance
in any other way.* He had used his best judgment in every try-
ing emergency, and when he received a communication from
* Chicago Tribune, October 15, 1871.
THE CHICAGO -FIRE CONTROVERSY. 8o/
the state executive protesting against his employment of United
States troops, in violation of the State law, he replied with equal
sharpness and clearness as follows: "Had your excellency, when
in Chicago on the nth and I2th of this month, informed me,
"or Lt.-Gen. Sheridan, of your disapprobation of the course that
I had thought proper to pursue, in having on the loth inst.
solicited his aid in preserving the peace and order of the city,
and protecting the lives and property of its inhabitants, satis-
factory reasons could have been given your excellency for so
doing, many of which, it would, even now, be unwise to make
public. In the performance of my official duties, I believed
that the emergency required me to take the step that I did.
I do not believe when the lives and property of the people
the peace and good order of a large city are in danger, that
it is time to stop and consider any questions of policy; but
that if the United States, by the strong arm of its military,
can give the instantly-required protection of life, property, and
order, it is the duty of those in power to avail themselves of
such assistance. Before the receipt of your communication, I
had already, upon consultation with other city officers, decided
to dispense with military aid in a day or two; and I am happy
to inform your excellency, that on Monday the 23d inst. [Oct.]
your excellency will be relieved of all anxiety on account of
the assistance of the military in protecting the lives and property
of the people."
The governor also addressed President Grant on the subject,
enlarging particularly upon the ordering by Gen. Sherman of
four companies of the 8th United-States Infantry to Chicago ;
inquiring of the president whether said troops were intended or
instructed to obey the call of the State or city authorities;
and stating that the authorities of the State of Illinois were
abundantly able to protect every interest of the people that
depended upon its internal peace and good order. In reply to
that communication, President Grant, enclosed copies of the
orders sent, and wrote as follows: "I will only add that no
thought here ever contemplated distrust of the state authorities
of the State of Illinois, or lack of ability on their part to do all
that was necessary, or expected of them, for the maintenance
of law and order within the limits of the State. The only thing
S08 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
thought of was how to benefit a people stricken by a calamity
greater than had ever befallen a community of the same num-
ber before in this country. The aid was of a like nature with
that given in any emergency requiring immediate action. No
reflection was contemplated or thought of, affecting the integ-
rity or ability of any state - officer or city official, within the
State of Illinois, to perform his whole duty."
When the adjourned session of the general assembly con-
vened Nov. 15, 1871, Gov. Palmer in his message presented a
full statement of the facts of the alleged military usurpation,
accompanied by the voluminous correspondence which had
ensued, and other documents. The message was read in the
house and referred to a special committee, consisting of E. M.
Haines, George W. Rives, H. Watson Webb, Charles H. Rice,
John N. McMillan, Oscar F. Price, and Andrew J. Galloway.
A majority of the committee, the four first named, brought in
a report sustaining the views of the governor and condemning
the action of the mayor in transferring the government of the
city to General Sheridan, censuring the latter for accepting
the trust as "illegal and a dangerous example," cordially
approving the action of the governor "in protesting against
the use of United-States troops in Chicago, and his course in
endeavoring to enforce civil authority in said city." The report
of the minority of the committee heartily endorsed the action
of the mayor and Gen. Sheridan under the circumstances, and,
while admitting that much that had been done at the time
referred to, was in violation of law, affirmed that justice, weigh-
ing the pure motives that prompted the commission of the
unlawful acts complained of, should withhold her sentence of
condemnation.
The reports coming up for action on January 24, the follow-
ing resolutions, embodying the views of the house, were
adopted by a vote of 59 to 52: "Resolved, that we declare as
unlawful, and an infraction of the constitution both of the
State and the United States the so-called military occupation,
yet in view of the trying circumstances and the great calamity
existing, when this military power was exercised, we exonerate
the federal government and federal military authorities from
intent to wilfully trespass upon the constitutional rights of this
ACTION OF THE LEGISLATURE. 809
State, or to interfere with its properly constituted authorities
during the emergency created by the recent fire.
"Resolved, that the protest of the executive of this State
against a violation of the constitution, was the performance of
a duty imposed upon him by his office, and establishes a valu-
able precedent, which is hereby approved."
The senate refused to take any action on the subject, and thus
the matter ended so far as the legislature was concerned; but
the question had a further hearing in Chicago with a decidedly
different result. The grand-jury of Cook County which made
its report November 20, expressed its views, and no doubt those
of the people of the city generally, in the following language:
"We fully endorse and commend the action of his honor
Mayor Mason in calling to his aid the services of Lt.-Gen.
Sheridan; that we honor the wise discretion of our mayor in
thrusting aside the petty vanity of place and position, and
summoning to his aid the wisest counsels in our midst;" and
in regard to the killing of Col. Thomas Grosvenor, it remarked:
"We have given this sad case a patient and careful examina-
tion. We have had before us all those who had the slightest
knowledge of the affair, and our deliberations have resulted in
setting at liberty the young man who was the cause of the
unfortunate occurrence." This report, signed by all the mem-
bers of the grand-jury, was regarded not only as an end of the
investigation but a complete vindication of his honor, Mayor
Mason.
The great fire set at rest the question of the place of meet-
ing of the adjourned session of the general assembly and the
resolution to meet in Chicago was rescinded at the October
special session. The body finally adjourned April 9, having
been in session altogether ten months.
Commendable progress was made at the adjourned session
toward the revision of the laws, twenty-five titles having passed.
Apportionment laws were also passed, as well as acts relating
to the subjects of eminent domain, evidence and depositions,
public libraries, fees and salaries, and the duties of the attorney-
general and state's attorneys, besides a new practice-act.
On July 3, 1871, the governor appointed Gustavus Koerner,
Richard P Morgan, jr., and David S. Hammond as the first
52
8 10 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
board of railroad and warehouse commissioners; and Wm. F.
Tompkins the first inspector of grain. All of the appointees
were confirmed by the senate, January n, 1872.
At the close of the session, the governor transmitted a com-
munication to the house in which he remarked, "That the
twenty-seventh general assembly had been distinguished for its
patient industry, for its fidelity to constitutional principles, for
its freedom from the slightest suspicion of corruption, and for
an independence of action that looked only for the maintenance
of its just authority, without interfering with the proper func-
tions of other departments of the government," a merited com-
pliment, so far as the personal integrity of the members was
concerned, but that there was wide-spread dissatisfaction among
the tax-payers in regard to the prolonged sessions of the body,
is evidenced by the comments of the press of the period.
In political affairs, the year 1872 was remarkable, not only
for the changes which occurred in the personal leadership of
the republican party, but also for the consolidation of the demo-
cratic party with a powerful seceding element from the ranks
of the former.
The administration of Grant had given dissatisfaction to a
very respectable minority of the party which had placed him
in power. The first mutterings of discontent were heard in
Missouri, where a movement was set on foot for the repeal
of a constitutional provision disfranchising rebels. The move-
ment was headed by Carl Schurz and B. Gratz Brown, and
was supported by such journals as the New-Orleans Democrat
and the New- York Tribune, and a number of other leading
republican papers. Although the original scope of the move-
ment was local in character, the sentiment which prompted it
soon proved infectious, and, spreading to other states, resulted
in the formal organization of what was designated as the
Liberal Republican Party. This body, through its speakers and
organs, savagely arraigned the party in power for alleged des-
potic treatment of the people of the states lately in rebellion,
for the corruption of the executive and legislative branches of
the government, for the introduction of nepotism into and the
general degradation of the civil service.
The movement soon assumed the proportions of a serious
THE LIBERAL PARTY OF 1872. 8ll
and wide-spread revolt, headed by a powerful combination of
many old and trusted republican leaders. The particular
object of its animadversion was the administration of General
Grant, although if successful, it threatened the complete over-
throw of republican ascendency in national affairs.
Among leading republicans in Illinois who became its
supporters and advisers were Senator Trumbull, Gov. Palmer,
Superintendent-of-Public-Instruction Newton Bateman, Secre-
tary-of-State Edward Rummel; ex-state officers, Francis A.
Hoffman, William Bross, Gustavus Koerner, Jesse K. Dubois,
O. M. Hatch, O. H. Miner, Washington Bushnell, Wm. Butler;
ex-congressmen, John Wentworth, S. W. Moulton, Jesse O.
Norton; besides Judge David Davis, Leonard Swett, Lawrence
Weldon, Dayid L. Phillips, Horace White, Wm. K. Sullivan,
S. W. Munn, Richard Rowett, R. B. Latham, and many others.
To one conversant with the political history of the State, this
list presents a truly formidable array of familiar and influential
names, embracing, as it does, those of many who had been
identified with the republican party as leaders ever since its
organization. Following in their wake came the Chicago
Tribune, which vied with its New -York prototype in the
bitterness of its denunciations of the administration.
The national convention of the Liberal Party the first to
throw down the gauntlet met at Cincinnati, May i, and con-
tinued in session three days. It can hardly be said to have
been a gathering of regularly-chosen delegates, in the sense in
which this term is generally applied. It was rather^a mass
meeting of the odds and ends of every party or clique in the
country opposed to Grant and the regular republicans. Among
its members were many incongruous elements; embracing "all
sorts and conditions of men" who had a grievance. Ex-repub-
licans sat, cheek by jowl, with democrats of every complex-
ion of belief, and ex-knownothings hob-nobbed with green-
backers and grangers. Illinois had a strong representation,
divided, however, in presidential preferences as follows: for
David Davis came Leonard Swett, Jesse W. Fell, A. Gridley,
Wirt Dexter, Wm. Kellogg, N. G. Wilcox, Wm. Fithian, N. K.
Fairbank, J. O. Norton, David T. Littler, S. C. Parks, Stephen K.
Moore, Thomas S. Mather, and G. W. Minier. Lyman Trum-
8 12 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
bull was the choice of Koerner, Hatch, White, and Wm. Jayne;
Gov. Palmer's claims were urged by Rowett, Gen. John Cook,
Casper Butz, E. M. Haines, and A. W. Edwards. The votes of
Dubois, Gens. Smith, Hecker, Kueffner, Bushnell, Phillips,
Miner, and John H. Bryant were distributed among the three
candidates.
The contest over the nomination, as might have been ex-
pected under such circumstances, was exciting and bitter. It
was found impossible to harmonize so many conflicting elements
the delegation from Illinois being more pronounced in its
dissensions than that from any other state. The first ballot
disclosed the following result: Horace Greeley 147, Charles
Francis Adams 205, Lyman Trumbull 1 10, David Davis 92^,
B. Gratz Brown 95, and Andrew Curtin 62. Greeley developed
more and more strength, until on the sixth ballot, he secured
the nomination; the vote standing, before any changes had
been made, 332 for Greeley to 320 for Adams. B. Gratz Brown
was nominated for vice-president on the second ballot.
The platform adopted by the Liberals favored: I, the equal-
ity of all men; 2, pronounced in favor of emancipation and
enfranchisement, and opposed any re-opening of the questions
settled by the I3th, I4th, and i$th amendments; 3, demanded
the removal of all disabilities incurred by participation in the
rebellion; 4, advocated local self-government and impartial
suffrage; 5, took strong ground in favor of reform of the civil
service; 6, called for the relegation of the subject of the tariff
directly to the people of the several congressional districts; 7,
denounced repudiation, and demanded a speedy return to
specie payments; 8, remembered the soldiers with gratitude;
and 9, avowed hostility to all further grants of public lands to
railroads.
The democratic national convention, which met at Baltimore,
July 9, ratified the nomination of Greeley and Brown, and
adopted the same platform of principles.
Separate state - conventions of the liberal and democratic
party were held at Springfield, June 26. Gen. Palmer presided
over the former and James C. Allen over the latter. The state-
ticket, made up of representative candidates from both of these
parties nominated by a conference committee appointed by
STATE CONVENTION OF l8/2. 813
the two conventions and confirmed by each, was as follows: for
governor, Gustavus Koerner; lieutenant-governor, John C.
Black; secretary of state, Edward Rummel; auditor, Daniel O'
Hara; treasurer, C. H. Lanphier; attorney-general, Lawrence
Welden. Both conventions were addressed by Gov. Palmer,
Senator Trumbull, and Gen. Shields.
In the meantime, the republican party, although somewhat
apprehensive of the effect of a secession from its ranks, so
extensive and influential, proceeded with its ordinary political
work precisely as though nothing had occurred to dampen the
ardor of its members or awaken fears of defeat. The state
convention was held at Springfield, May 22. The venerable
and life-long friend of Abraham Lincoln, Judge Stephen T.
Logan, was called upon to preside. The proceedings were
characterized by harmony and unwonted enthusiasm. Up
to the time of issuing the formal call for the convention, by
the state central committee it was generally supposed, and so
authoritatively announced in the State Journal, that Governor
Palmer would ask for a renomination; it being also generally
understood that Gen. Richard J. Oglesby would be a candidate
before the next legislature for United-States senator to succeed
Judge Trumbull. Early in April, however, there appeared in
the daily papers a recommendation, signed by twenty -two
members of the general assembly, inviting Gen. Oglesby to be-
come a candidate for the governorship; to which he replied, that
he had "had no expectation or wish to become the candidate;"
and that "it would be far more compatible with his feelings to
give a hearty support to some one else," but that if tendered,
he would not feel at liberty to decline. About a week after this,
Gov. Palmer addressed a letter to his home-paper the Carlin-
ville Democrat in which he announced that he would not be a
candidate for renomination before the republican state-conven-
tion, and stating as his reason, that he was opposed to the re-
nomination of Gen. Grant, and "would not consent to canvass
the State to promote his re-election unless the candidate placed
in the field against him was more objectionable." The objec-
tion to Grant, as stated in the communication, was that he
"could not justify the opinion acted upon by Gen. Grant when
he ordered four companies of infantry into the State to act as
8 14 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
police, and that dictated his approval of the acts of General
Sheridan in raising troops by his own authority in this State
subjecting Chicago to military rule whereby a peaceable citizen
of the State was unlawfully killed." This course of the gov-
ernor simplified matters for the convention and insured the
renomination of Gen. Oglesby for governor without a dissenting
voice. Gen. John L. Beveridge carried off the honor of the
second place, receiving 390 votes on the first ballot. The other
nominees were as follows: secretary of state, George H. Har-
low; auditor of public accounts, Charles E. Lippincott, renomi-
nated; state treasurer, Edward Rutz; attorney-general, James
K. Edsall.
The platform abounded in declarations which "pointed with
pride" to what the party had accomplished in the past but was
rather chary in making promises as to the future. The rela-
tions between national and state sovereignty were defined, and
it was stated, in general terms, that the fundamental principles
underlying this issue had been previously enunciated and that
the attitude of the party in relation thereto had been abun-
dantly justified. It was further resolved, that it was the right
and duty of every republican "to condemn every existing abuse
in national, state, and municipal governments, and to zealously
advocate all needful reforms;" also, "that the republican party
is the party of progress and human rights and duties." The
platform further advocated a protective tariff; declared against
"all unconstitutional legislation for the cure of any of the dis-
orders of society, whether irreligion, intemperance, or any
other evil;" endorsed Gen. Grant's administration and instructed
the Illinois delegates to vote for his renomination at the coming
national convention.*
The national republican convention was held at Philadelphia,
* The following were chosen delegates to the national convention : at large,
Stephen T. Logan, Emery A. Storrs, Leonard F. Ross, Jasper Partridge; districts,
J. Young Scammon, Lewis Ellsworth; Herman Raster, James L. Campbell; Clark
W. Upton, William Vocke; J. H. Maybum, A. B. Coon; John C. Smith, Edward
B. Warner; Andrew Crawford, J. W. Templeton; Lyman B. Ray, W. M. Sweet-
land; W. R. Hickox, N.E. Stevens; Enoch Emery, Edwin Butler; John McKenney,
sr., Henry Tubbs; George W. Burns, David Pierson; Shelby M. Cullom, John
Moses; William McGalliard, Thomas Snell; Joseph R. Mosser, James Knight; T. A.
Apperson, James Steele; H. C. Goodnow, J. F. Alexander; Russell Hinckley, A.
W. Metcalf; George Waters, T. H. Burgess; D. W. Lusk, and Israel A. PowelL
PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS. 8l$
June 5, 1872. Gen. Grant was the unanimous choice of the
delegates for renomination for the presidency, but the selection
of a candidate for vice - president was a close and spirited
contest between Schuyler Colfax, the then incumbent, and
Henry Wilson of Massachusetts. It resulted in the success of
Wilson by a majority of only a few votes.
The national platform advocated reform in the civil service;
favored the extension of amnesty to those lately in rebellion;
reendorsed the recently-ratified amendments to the constitution;
called for the abolition of the franking privilege; expressed a
confidence that "our excellent national currency" would be per-
fected by a speedy resumption of specie payments; favored the
encouragement of American commerce and shipping; de-
nounced repudiation; opposed further grants of public lands to
corporations and monopolies; and following the example set
by the State of Illinois in this respect, disapproved of the
resort to unconstitutional laws for the purpose of removing
evils by interfering with rights not surrendered by the people
to either the state or national government.
At a convention of labor reformers held Feb. 22, 1872,
David Davis was nominated as their candidate for president.
The nominee duly and courteously thanked the body "for the
unexpected honor" conferred upon him, but four months later
forwarded a formal declinature.
Charles O' Connor of New York, was the candidate of the
straight democrats who refused to support Horace Greeley.
As the campaign progressed, it became more and more
evident that the apprehensions of those republicans who had
adhered to the party organization had been groundless. The
revolt of so many leaders had awakened no little fear, but it
was soon apparent that the latter would not be able to carry
their following with them into the democratic camp. A leader
of a political revolt, stripped of his adherents, is as powerless
for evil as is a major-general in the army who, in a fit of pique,
tenders his resignation. In the latter case, the rank and file are
not affected, nor is the effective working force of the army inter-
fered with. In the cas,e of the former, the great mass of voters
are likely to adhere to their former party affiliations, especially
when they can see that the motives which actuate the conduct
8l6 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
of the men whom they have been accustomed to follow are of a
nature strictly personal. Under such circumstances as these, it
is not easy to loosen the foundations of party fealty. At the
same time, there can be no question that the bitter hostility to
the candidacy of Gen. Grant was in great part founded in good
faith. Many of those who opposed him were as sincere in
their criticism of the methods of his administration as they had
been unwavering in their fidelity to the country in its hour of
sorest need. On the other hand, among the promoters of the
secession movement there were many who were technically
known, in political parlance, as sore-heads; men who had been
disappointed in their aspirations, or had been supplanted by
more popular competitors for party favor. The latter class was
so numerous as to alienate the republican support which the
movement might otherwise have commanded. As for the old-
time, dyed-in-the-wool, straight-out, Bourbon democrats, Mr.
Greeley was too bitter a pill for them to swallow even though
sugar-coated with a national democratic nomination. The
practical result was that the rallying cry of the opposition soon
became "anything to beat Grant," and principles were forgotten
in a campaign which was probably the most bitter personally
of any in the history of American politics.
Nevertheless, Greeley found supporters in many old -line
whigs, who had been influenced by his Tribune for thirty years,
and among many others, who sincerely believed him to be a
better republican than was Gen. Grant. But as has been said, his
name and record were exceedingly distasteful to the democrats,
who, in the past, had always found him their most powerful,
unflinching, and uncompromising foe. Still many of the latter
accorded him a half-hearted support, and always under pro-
test. Had the Cincinnati convention nominated Senator Trum-
bull or Judge Davis for president, and had Gen. Palmer been
nominated for governor in Illinois, the vote in this State might
have been much closer, even had not the result been doubtful
in both the State and Nation. Many, indeed, of those who
went to Cincinnati did so solely to nominate Trumbull or Davis
as against Grant; Greeley they did not want and would not
support, and accordingly availed themselves of the first oppor-
tunity to get back into the republican fold, where most of them
STATE DEBT. 817
now remain. Others gave the Cincinnati ticket only a very
feeble, practical endorsement. As it turned out, after the first
few weeks, all the enthusiasm and vigor of the campaign was
on the side of the republicans, who carried the State and Nation
by an overwhelming majority. So far as Illinois was concerned,
however, the majority was much larger for president than for
governor and other state-officers.*
The amount of the State debt, including an addition of
$250,000 on account of the canal, was, on Dec. I, 1872, $2,060-
150 showing a decrease during the preceding four years of
$3,928,303. Gov. Palmer, in his concluding message to the
legislature, called attention to the fact, with pardonable pride,
and pointed out that, notwithstanding the low prices ruling for
leading farm - products, and the unsettled state of business
throughout the country, the growth of the cities and towns
of the State had been as extraordinary as had been the increase
and multiplication of its manufacturing interests, and as were
the evidences of development and progress which were in-
dicated by the condition of the people during and at the
close of his term of office. The governor had met with,
and even courted, many antagonisms during his term. He had
had to encounter the difficulties attendant upon carrying the
ship of state over the reefs and shoals of a defective and
often-violated constitution into the fairer and safer, yet untried,
harbor provided by the new organic law. He had found it
necessary, frequently, to differ with the legislature, with his own
party, and with the president he had not, indeed, always been
able to be consistent with himself but he came out of the
trial unscathed, so far as his honor was concerned, generally
retaining the respect of his opponents and the good-will of the
people of the State.
* The following are the figures for Illinois: for the Grant electors, 241,237; for
the Greeley electors, 184,772; for the O'Connor electors, 3,138. For Oglesby,
2 37774; Koerner, 197,084; B. G. Wright, 2,185. Beveridge, 235,101; Black,
199,767; Starr, 2,459. For state-officers, majority, 48,790.
The result in the Nation was that Grant received 286 electoral votes; liberal and
democratic parties, 63; and 17 not counted.
CHAPTER XLIII.
Administration of Gov. Beveridge Twenty-eighth General
Assembly Election of Oglesby to the Senate Laws
Parties and Platforms in 1874 Twenty-ninth Gen-
eral Assembly Haines Speaker Laws The Cen-
tennial Year Conventions, Platforms, and Elections
of 1876.
OVERNOR OGLESBY was inaugurated Jan. 13, 1873,
and delivered the usual address. He availed himself of the
opportunity, as his predecessor had done, to refer to the ques-
tion of state-rights, observing that "our character as citizen of
the United States is at least equal to our character as citizen
of a state," and that as all power emanated from the people,
"he who is thoroughly imbued with respect for and confidence
in their patriotism, intelligence, and good sense, need take no
special uneasiness to himself as to whether this or that grant
of political power will trench upon, eat up, or devour all others
in the common country." The governor treated the subject in
a popular way and received the approving smiles of his political
friends.
The ceremony of inaugurating the governor elect, however,
was a mere matter of form as before that he had received
the unanimous and enthusiastic nomination of the republican
members of the legislature as their candidate for the United-
States senate, which was equivalent to his subsequent election,
January 21. His opponent, selected by the democrats, was
Judge Trumbull, the then incumbent, whose place he was
chosen to fill the final vote being, in the senate, Oglesby 33,
Trumbull 16, Coolbaugh 2; in the house, Oglesby 84, Trumbull
62.
Protests, signed by 16 senators and 48 members of the house,
were filed against the election of Gov. Oglesby to the senate
on the ground of his ineligibility, citing that section of the State
constitution which provides that "neither the governor, lieuten-
ant-governor, auditor, secretary of state, superintendent of
818
GOVERNOR BEVERIDGE. 819
public instruction, nor attorney-general, shall be eligible to any
other office during the period for which he shall have been
elected." Of course, this claim was intended only to affect
political results at home; it produced no effect in the United-
States senate, that body being the sole judge of the election
and qualification of its own members.
The faithful and able services of Lyman Trumbull as a
senator from Illinois for eighteen years were thus terminated.
His estrangement from the republican party, which he had done
so much to create and sustain, began with his opposition to the
impeachment of President Andrew Johnson an act for which
all reflecting and right-thinking citizens now honor and applaud
him. Political parties have no gratitude and political sins are
hardly ever condoned. A revolt from a party, like that of
the Liberals in 1872, is suicidal unless it is successful, and the
senator reaped only the results of his own sowing.
The governor having, in consequence of his election to
the senate, resigned the executive office on January 23, "the
powers, duties, and emoluments of the office" devolved upon
the lieutenant-governor.
John Lowrie Beveridge, who thus succeeded to the guberna-
torial chair, was born in Greenwich, Washington County, New
York, July 6, 1824. His ancestors were from Scotland and he
was raised a Scotch Presbyterian, inured to hard work on a
farm in the summer and attending the district-school in the
winter. In 1842, he removed with his father's family to De
Kalb County in this State. Here he was enabled partially to
gratify his desire for a higher education by attending one term
at Granville Academy in Putnam County, and, during 1843 to
1845, several terms at the Rock-River Seminary at Mt. Morris,
in Ogle County. Following the example of Gov. Seward of
New York, and Senators Trumbull and Kane of this State,
when he came of age, he concluded to try his fortune in the
South, and emigrated to Tennessee, where he engaged in teach-
ing. While thus employed, he studied law and was admitted
to the bar. He returned to Illinois for a wife Miss Helen M.
Judson to whom he was married in 1848, after which he
resumed the practice of his profession in Tennessee.
Not meeting with the success he expected, he resolved in
820 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
1851, richer in experience only, to return to Illinois and make
that State his permanent home. He resided at Sycamore until
1854, when he removed to Evanston, at the same time opening
a law-office in Chicago. Having recruited a company for the
8th Illinois Cavalry, which his law-partner, Gen. John F. Farns-
worth, had been authorized to raise, he was mustered into the
Union service in September, 1861. He was soon afterward
promoted to the majority of, and, indeed, frequently commanded
the regiment during its valiant services with the Army of
the Potomac.
In 1863, he succeeded in raising and organizing the I7th
Illinois Cavalry of which he was commissioned colonel. This
regiment was ordered to Missouri and did most gallant and
effective service in the border warfare of that region during
1864. In 1865, he commanded several sub-districts in south-
east Missouri and was mustered out of the service, Feb. 6, 1866,
with the rank of brevet brigadier-general, having proved him-
self a brave, as he was certainly a popular, officer.
Previous to his entering the army, Gov. Beveridge had never
held an office. In 1866, he was elected sheriff of Cook County,
and from that time his political advancement was extraordinarily
rapid. In 1870, he was elevated to the state senate, his seat in
which body he resigned to accept the nomination for congress-
man-at-large vice Logan elected to the senate in 1871; and
this position he resigned to make the race for lieutenant-governor
in 1872; so that, in fact, within three weeks, he held the offices
of congressman, lieutenant-governor, and governor of the State.
He had satisfied public expectation in each of these posi-
tions. He stood especially high in popular esteem at the time
of his nomination for lieutenant-governor, when, in responding to
a call in the state-convention for a speech, amid great excitement
and confusion, he disclosed unexpected abilities as a speaker.
His well-proportioned physique, his dignified bearing, his
venerable appearance, indicated by his silver hair and beard,
rather than by any symptom of mental or physical infirmity,
with his well-chosen words, grouped in appropriate sentences,
favorably impressed his audience.
The temperate life of the new governor and the religious
tone of his mind were not such as to recommend him to the
TWENTY -EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 821
favor of saloon politicians, neither was he "all things to all
men." He possessed the courage of his convictions and never
dreamed of sacrificing principle to popularity. He lacked
indeed that vigor of mind which is self-asserting and brings a
personal following within party-lines to promote personal ends.
Of all who have occupied the executive chair in this State,
probably he was least known among the people at large, a
circumstance which may be at least partially explained by the
fact that his public life, outside of Cook County, had extended
over a period scarcely exceeding two years. But he was heartily
in accord with his party and earnestly desired to discharge
the duties of his high office for the best interests of all the
citizens of the State.*
The twenty-eighth general assembly convened Jan. 8, 1873,
with 51 senators and 153 representatives, the number fixed by
the new constitution and which has not since been changed.
The republicans had a majority of 17 in the upper and 19 in
the lower house.
The senate came nearer being composed of new material
than at any other session since the first. There were only eight
hold-over members, namely, Early, Whiting, Nicholson, Dono-
hue, Voris, Starne, Kelley, and Murphy. Joseph S. Reynolds,
Horace F. Waite, Rollin S. Williamson, Henry Green, Patrick
H. Sanford, John S. Lee, William R. Archer, Beatty T. Burke,
John H. Yager, Thomas S. Casey, William K. Murphy, and
John Hinchcliffe, had formerly served in the house. Among
the new members were: George P. Jacobs of Ogle County;
Miles B. Castle of DeKalb; Eugene Canfield of Kane; Elmer
Baldwin of LaSalle; Edward A. Wilcox of Woodford; Samuel
P. Cummings of Fulton; John C. Short of Vermilion; Charles
B. Steele of Edgar; A. A. Glenn of Brown; William Brownfof
Morgan; Miles Kehoe, Samuel K. Dow, Richard S.Thompson,
of Cook; Clark W. Upton of Lake; Jas. G. Strong of Living-
ston; Francis M. Youngblood of Franklin; and Charles M.
Ferrell of Hardin.
In the house, there were but nineteen old members, namely,
* Edward L. Higgins was appointed adjutant-general and Philo L. Beveridge the
governor's private secretary.
t Nephew of Judge William Brown, deceased, who served in the eighteenth house.
822 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Senne, Hildrup, Shaw, Efner, P. A. Armstrong, Mann, Julius A.
Carpenter, Herrington, George W. Armstrong, Moffet, Cullom,
Easley, Dresser, Forth, Dolan, Austin, James, John Thomas,
Lemma, and Newton R. Casey.
Among the new members may be mentioned : Messrs. Isaac
Rice of Ogle County; Alfred M. Jones of JoDaviess; Henry
D. Dement of Lee; Charles Dunham of Henry; Lyman B.
Ray the present lieutenant-governor of Grundy; Alson J.
Streeter of Mercer; David Rankin of Henderson; Julius Starr
of Peoria; C. P. Davis of Piatt; F. K. Granger of McHenry;
Richard F. Crawford of Winnebago; Frederick H. Marsh of
Ogle; James A. Connolly of Coles; Benson Wood of Effing-
ham; James M. Truitt and Hiram P. Shumway of Christian;
Milton Hay and Alfred Orendorf of Sangamon; Nathaniel W.
Branson of Menard; N. Bushnell and John Tillson of Adams;
M. D. Massie of Pike; Jerome B. Nulton of Green; John
Gordon of Morgan; Charles D. Hoiles and Andrew G. Henry
of Bond; E. J. C. Alexander and James M. Truitt of Mont-
gomery; Matthew Inscore of Union; and John H. Oberly
of Alexander. Cook County was represented by: James B.
Bradwell, John A. Lomax, William Wayman, Solomon P'.
Hopkins, Frank T. Sherman, Charles G. Wicker, Edward F.
Cullerton, C. Kann, Thomas M. Halpin, John F. Scanlon,
Thomas E. Ferrier, William H. Condon, William A. Hert-
ing, Ingwell Oleson, Otto Peltzer, Hugh McLaughlin, John M.
Rountree, George E. Washburn, Daniel Booth, C. H. Dolton,
and Henry C. Senne.
Shelby M. Cullom was, for the second time, elected speaker
of the house, his opponent being Newton R. Casey; and Daniel
Shepard was chosen clerk, both by a party-vote. John Early
of Winnebago County, was made president pro tempore of the
senate and Daniel A. Ray, secretary.
A foretaste of the coming storm, which was to deprive the
republican party of the control of the legislature, was had in
the action of the senate upon the nominations by the governor
of a board of railroad -and -warehouse commissioners. The
names first sent in were S. H. McCrea, Wm. H. Robinson, and
John Stillwell, the senate committee reporting in favor of con-
firming only the one first named. This compelled the nomina-
LAWS PASSED REVISION. 823
tion of a new board, namely, D. A. Brown, John M. Pearson,
and H. D. Cook the first two farmers and the first named a
democrat who were subsequently confirmed.
Among the acts of a public nature passed at this session,
were: to organize agricultural societies; to authorize the build-
ing of a lock and dam at Copperas Creek; appropriating one
million of dollars for the purpose of carrying on the work on
the new state-house; for the suppression of the trade in and
circulation of indecent or immoral literature; to repeal the
Lake- Front law of 1869; also, an act amending the act of the
last session "to prevent extortion and unjust discrimination in
the rates charged for the transportation of passengers and
freight." This was the law which was framed in accordance
with the suggestions of the supreme court in the "Lexington
Case," the opinion being delivered by Judge Lawrence, by
which the charging of a greater compensation for a less distance
or for the same distance was made prima-facie instead of con-
clusive evidence of unjust discrimination.
The ordinary legislation of the twenty-eighth general assem-
bly having been completed, it adjourned on May 6, 1873, until
Jan. 8, 1874, for the purpose of completing the revision of the
laws, only about half of the bills having been finished by the
last legislature. A joint-committee, composed of Clark W.
Upton and Charles B. Steele of the senate, and Milton Hay,
John M. Rountree, and Charles Dunham of the house, was
appointed, to which all revision bills that had not been acted
upon by either house were referred. They were authorized to
continue in session during the recess, and, in conjunction with
Commissioner Hurd, to prepare all bills necessary to complete
the revision and report to the adjourned session. The laborious
work of this commission was most faithfully and ably performed,
and nearly all the titles reported by it were passed. The
legislature finally adjourned, March 31, 1874, having been in
session, altogether, two hundred and four days.
The year 1874 will long be remembered as remarkable for
the extraordinary upheaval of sentiment and opinion which it
witnessed in social, religious, and political circles. It was the
year of the great temperance crusade, which, inaugurated by
the women in Ohio, gradually spread over the country. The
824 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Beecher-Tilton scandal rent the mind of the American public
in twain. In Chicago, Prof. David Swing was tried before his
presbytery for heresy. It was a period of low prices for the
products of the farm, and of depression in business. Party-
lines, as theretofore drawn, were again seriously strained in the
agitation of important economic questions relating to transpor-
tation by railroads, and the currency. The division of public
sentiment upon the question of the "granger" railroad legisla-
tion, which had been precipitated upon the country by the
farming community, pervaded all political parties. The Grange,
or patrons of husbandry, a secret society organized in 1869 for
the. promotion of the interests of the cultivators of the soil, had
rapidly grown in numbers and influence; and although the
accomplishment of political results was not primarily one of its
objects, from its ranks had been organized farmer's clubs which
met in county and state conventions for the purpose of discuss-
ing and taking action in reference to these political questions.
State meetings were held at Decatur and Bloomington in 1872,
and 1873, and a state convention at Springfield on April 2, 1873.
The determination of the railroads to disregard the restrictive
legislation of 1871, and the decision of the supreme court in
1873, declaring a portion of the law against discrimination in
the rates for freight inoperative, intensified the feeling in favor
of this movement which found expression in the defeat of Judge
Lawrence, who prepared the opinion, as a candidate for re-elec-
tion to the bench of the supreme court.
As might have been foreseen, the outgrowth, if not the origi-
nal intention of this agitation, was the organization of a new
political party. It was the first to clear the decks for action by
calling a state convention under the name of the "Illinois State
Independent Reform" party, to meet at Springfield, June 10,
1874. It was to be composed of "farmers, mechanics, laboring
men and other citizens." J. M. Allen of Henry County was
selected to preside, and there were present representatives from
all existing political organizations, among them: ex-Gov. John
M. Palmer, John H. Bryant, L. F. Ross, A. J. Streeter, H. C.
Withers, D. W. Smith, J. B. Turner, G. W. Minier, Richard
Rowett, W. C. Flagg, John Landrigan, William B. Anderson, S.
F. Crews, and A. C. Hesing. Gen. Palmer was the principal
iHt
01- iht
: ;
STATE CONVENTIONS. 825
speaker, taking the ground, that "political parties had accom-
plished their work and it was time for them to give way. That
whatever these parties might have been in the past, certain it
was they had outlived their usefulness." He spoke against
"grinding monopolies" and declared that now was the time for
the people to assert themselves.
During a lull in the proceedings, A. C. Hesing of Chicago
was called out, and frankly expressed himself in favor of hard
money, against inflation of the currency, and opposed to all
sumptuary laws. He, however, voiced the sentiments of only
a small minority of the delegates.
The platform, in substance, was as follows: I, in favor of
retrenchment and reform ; 2, reform of abuses in the civil ser-
vice; 3, in favor of improving the navigation of lakes and
rivers; 4, opposed to any further grants of lands or loans
to corporations; 5, demanding the repeal of the national bank-
ing law, and the issue of legal-tender currency direct from the
treasury, interchangeable for government bonds bearing the
lowest possible interest; 6, for the revision of the patent laws;
7, opposed to annual instead of biennial sessions of the legis-
lature; 8, in favor of the existing railroad legislation; 9, in
favor of the right of the legislature to regulate and control
railroads; 10, condemning the practice of public officials
receiving railroad passes; 11, opposed to the principle of pro-
tection for a tariff for revenue only; 12, recommending that
the independent voters organize; 13, opposed to the contract
system in the construction of public works; 14, inviting every-
body to unite with the Independent Reform Party.
Gen. Rowett offered a resolution "uncompromisingly oppos-
.ing any further inflation, and demanding a return to a uniform
standard of value," which he warmly defended, but which was
received with jeers and hisses. Later on, ex-Senator Flagg
proposed a resolution in favor of paying the debt of the
country in good faith, as the pledges of the Nation required,
and that the convention scorned the imputation that the
industrial population desired to avoid payment of its just
debts. An exciting debate followed and the resolution was
referred to the committee on. the platform, who reported
against its adoption.
S3
826 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
David Gore was nominated for state treasurer and Samuel
M. Etter for superintendent of public instruction.
The republican state-convention met in Springfield, June 17.
Speaker Cullom was selected to preside and Daniel Shepard
to act as secretary. There was an exciting and extremely
close contest, between Thomas S. Ridgway and George A.
Sanders, over the state treasurership, which, after three ballots,
was decided in favor of the former as appeared by the an-
nouncement of the vote. The correctness of this was ques-
tioned; but the official declaration showed 301 to 297, 299 votes
being required to nominate. Three ballots were also taken
upon the nomination of a candidate for superintendent of
public instruction, among the names presented being that of
Miss Frances Willard of Evanston, who received the largest
vote on the first ballot; but the final result was in favor of
William H. Powell of Kane County, who received 302 votes
to 294 for Elijah L. Wells of Ogle.
But the contest over these nominations was trifling as com-
pared with that which arose over the construction of the plat-
form. It began in the committee on resolutions, where the
plank relating to the currency was debated for over five hours.
It was finally reported by the committee, as follows:
"Resolved, that we reaffirm the declaration of the national
republican convention of 1872 in favor of a return to specie
payments at the earliest practicable day; that we are opposed
to any increase in the amount of legal-tender notes, and favor
the gradual reduction of the same as the volume of the
national-bank notes shall be increased." It was moved to strike
out that portion of the resolution which opposed the increase
in the volume of legal-tender notes, upon which an animated
debate sprung up, the motion being ultimately carried by the
close vote of 298 to 234.
The other planks in the platform adopted covered the fol-
lowing points: reaffirming the faith of Illinois republicans in
the 1 3th, I4th, and I5th amendments: opposed to the retiring
of $382,000,000 United- States treasury notes; favoring free
national banking; favoring the election of president and vice-
president by a direct vote of the people; denouncing the
interference by law with the habits, tastes, or customs of indi-
RESULT OF THE ELECTION. 027
viduals, except to suppress licentiousness or to preserve the
peace and safety of the citizens of the State; demanding for
the people "reasonable railway charges, and rigid impartiality
in the transportation of passengers and freights."
Still another state convention, called the "Democratic Liberal
Convention," composed principally of democrats, assembled at
Springfield, August 26. Ex-Governor Palmer again appeared
prominently at the front, was selected to preside over the body,
and formally returned to the democratic fold. The same ques-
tions relating to the currency, resumption, and payment of the
United-States 5-20 bonds, which had disturbed the harmony
of the two preceding conventions, were the subject here also of
a prolonged and acrimonious discussion. "Honest money"
and the payment of the bonds in gold gained the day by a
vote of 311 to 241. The platform, somewhat abridged, was
as follows: in favor of "the restoration of gold and silver as
the basis of currency; the resumption of specie payments "as
soon as possible without disaster to the business interests of
the country, by steadily opposing inflation and by the payment
of the national indebtedness in the money of the civilized
world." "Free commerce and no tariff except for revenue pur-
poses" were also demanded; individual liberty and opposition
to sumptuary laws were favored; monopolies and privileged
classes were denounced; "the right and duty of a State to
protect its citizens from extortion and unjust discrimination
by chartered monopolies" were affirmed; and the convention
pronounced in favor of increased pensions to crippled soldiers.
Charles Carroll was nominated for state treasurer; and S.
M. Etter, the nominee of the independent reformers, for state
superintendent of public instruction.
The mutability of the principles of a political party may be
profitably studied from the shifting kaleidoscope of these
changing views.
The relative strength of these different organizations, as
shown at the polls, was:
Thos. S. Ridgway, republican, for treasurer, received 162,974
Charles Carroll, democrat, for treasurer, 128,169
David Gore, independent reform, for treasurer, 75, 580
S. M. Etter, fusion, for superintendent public instruction, 197,490
Wm. B. Powell, republican, M n u 166,984
828 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The republicans elected only six members of congress. A
like defeat followed them in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and in other
republican states, and in the loss of the lower house of con-
gres?.
The extent to which party-lines had been obliterated in
the State at this time is well illustrated by the political com-
plexion of the legislature. No party had a majority, but the
republicans had secured the largest number of members, who
were classified as follows: in the senate, republicans 24, demo-
crats 19, independents, liberals, and reformers 9. The house
contained 69 republicans, 42 democrats, and 41 calling them-
selves independents, reformers, oppositionists, or "mixed."
One member elect, Robert Theim from Cook County, failed to
make his appearance.
Of the 5 1 members of the senate, 26 were elected this year
the others being "hold overs." Miles Kehoe, John Early,
Miles B. Castle, and Lorenzo D. Whiting were reelected.
Among the new members were John C Haines of Cook,
Fawcett Plumb of LaSalle, E. C. Moderwell of Henry, Albert
O. Marshall of Will, George Hunt of Edgar, Wm. E. Shutt of
Sangamon, Bernard Arntzen of Adams, and Chas. D. Hodges
of Greene.
In the house, 32 members had been reelected and among
them were, James B. Bradwell, Solomon P. Hopkins, and John
Hise of Cook, and Elijah M. Haines, Flavel K. Granger,
Richard F. Crawford, E. L. Cronkrite, A. M. Jones, Henry D.
Dement, Isaac Rice, 'Frederick H. Marsh, Philip Collins, James
Herrington, George W. Parker, George W. Armstrong, S. P.
Cummings, Stephen Y. Thornton, Julius S. Starr, Thomas P.
Rogers, James A. Connolly, Shelby M. Cullom, Nathaniel W.
Branson, John Gordon, A. G. Henry, Thomas E. Merritt, John
Landrigan, John Thomas, David Rankin, and Matthew J.
Inscore.
Among the new members may be mentioned the names of
Lincoln Dubois, then of Cook County, now of Springfield,
Moses J. Wentworth, George M. Bogue, Conrad L. Niehoff,
Orrin L. Mann, and John C. Barker from Cook; Wm. A. James
from Lake; James F. Claflin of DuPage; Wm. Mooney, H. H.
Stasson, jr., and Luke H. Goodrich of Will; A. G. Hammond
TWENTY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 829
of Stark; J. H. Moore, and J. J. Herron of Bureau; John T.
Browning of Rock Island; John H. Lewis of Knox; C. W.
Boydston of Warren; James DeWitt of Schuyler; Patrick W.
Dunn of Peoria; John F. Winter of McLean; Samuel S. Jack
of Macon; James Callins and John Moses of Scott; Samuel
S. Gilbert of Macoupin; Oliver P. Powell of Jersey; Ethelbert
Callahan of Crawford; Amos B. Barrett of Jefferson; John
N. Wasson of Gallatin; F. E. Albright of Jackson; Benjamin
O. Jones of Massac; and Lewis F. Plater of Hardin. The full
roll of both houses may be found in the appendix.*
The members of the opposition to the hitherto dominant
party differed as much from each other as they did from the
republicans, and the question was how to utilize their power
in order to secure supremacy the one thing upon which they
were united. To arrange for a satisfactory division of the
spoils of office, frequent consultations were held which failed
to bring about an agreement. Cullom had received the nomi-
nation of the republicans for speaker, and it was hoped that
he would be able to carry enough strength - v from the liberals
former republicans to be elected. The independents stood
firmly by E. M. Haines, their own candidate for the speaker-
ship, but who was very objectionable to a few democrats, who
declared that they would not support him under any circum-
stances. But it soon became apparent that their choice must
be between the champion of the independent reformers and a
republican. When the first ballot was taken, 73 members were
found to be for Haines, 68 for Cullom, 6 for Dr. J. L. Wilcox
of Sangamon, straight democrat, and 4 scattering. Haines
lacked only 4 votes, and the field was anxiously scanned to see
who would make the break and for whose benefit. It came
* Of the senators, 8 were born in New York, 8 in New England, 8 in Ohio; 7 of
foreign birth, 6 in Illinois, 4 in Kentucky, 3 in Indiana, and 7 in Virginia, Pennsyl-
vania, and Connecticut. Lawyers 27, farmers 14, bankers 6, and 4 traders, etc.
Of the members of the house of representatives, 2 1 were born in foreign lands, 2 1
in New York, 22 in Illinois, 13 in New England, 16 in Ohio, 16 in Pennsylvania, 9
in Kentucky, 3 in New Jersey, and 3 1 in Virginia, Tennessee, etc. 72 were farmers,
36 lawyers, 13 merchants, 6 bankers, 4 physicians, 3 mechanics, and 18 various
dealers. The oldest senator was B. T. Burke 65 years, the youngest, Miles Kehoe
30. The oldest member of the house was John Thomas 75 years, and the
youngest, Moses J. Wentworth, Curtis K. Harvey, and Wm. H. Skelly, jr., each
26 years.
830 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
from the democrats, who gave the Waukegan statesman enough
votes to secure his election and four to spare. Jeremiah J.
Crowley, a democrat from Chicago, was elected clerk of the
house, and the other offices were fairly distributed between
the democrats and independents.
Senator Archibald A. Glenn, a democrat, was elected presi-
dent of the senate, who thus became acting lieutenant-gover-
nor, and R. R. Townes secretary.
As might have been expected, the deliberations of a body
composed of elements so heterogeneous and conglomerate as
was the house were anything but harmonious. The working
of the newly -cemented union between elements so diverse
proved anything but satisfactory, even to its component parts.
E. M. Haines, the speaker elect, came to Illinois from New
York when he was a small boy. Having been admitted to the
bar, he opened a law-office at Waukegan, and soon began to
meddle with politics. He was elected to the 2ist, (1858), 22d,
23d, and 2/th general assemblies, and had also been a member
of the constitutional convention of 1869. He had been at first
a democrat, then a republican, and was now an independent
reformer. Being a thorough parliamentarian and not particu-
larly attached to either of the old parties, he was well qualified
in certain respects to fill the speaker's chair. But it is safe to
say that there was never a time after the first two weeks of
the session when a majority of the members would not have
willingly seen him displaced. There was scarcely a day that
did not bring with it wranglings over the speaker's rulings, and
discordant disputes. Though a professed independent, he was
never found in favor of any of the proposed measures of his
party, and ruled as regularly against them as against the
propositions of republicans or democrats to which he was
opposed. He was generally cool, calm, and collected in his
demeanor, and amidst the wildest excitement, when actual
personal collisions seemed imminent, he filled the chair with
provoking self-control, even with exasperating nonchalance. It
was exceedingly difficult for any member to secure recognition,
especially if he was suspected of an intention to speak in favor
of any measure which the speaker opposed only the most
persistent among the republicans were allowed this privilege
LEGISLATIVE TURBULENCE. 83!
and they were generally declared to be out of order. To say
that his rulings were arbitrary, is but feebly to express the
despotic and aggressive manner in which he exercised the
great power which parliamentary law confers upon a speaker.
As the days of the sessions passed, antagonisms intensified
and angry disputations became more frequent and acrimonious
until the final culmination was reached on April 10 in a dis-
graceful row, the occasion of which was the speaker's adjourn-
ment of the house during the afternoon session against the
manifest and declared sense of a majority of the members
present. The squabble originated upon the presentation and
reading, by Connolly, of a protest against the action of the
house on the Louisiana political resolutions and against the
rulings of the speaker. Fiery speeches were made by Cum-
mings, Merritt, and others, against receiving the protest, and
the democrats left the hall to break a quorum. Jones of Jo
Daviess, who was chairman of the republican caucus and
"steering committee," by virtue of which positions he assumed
a leadership for which he was poorly qualified in such an
emergency, and who had made himself as obnoxious to the
speaker as the latter had been to republicans, opened the
ball, when on being interrupted in his remarks by Plater,
an offensively chronic objector, he grasped a book lying on
his desk and flung it at the head of his interlocutor. The
compliment was returned and "confusion worse confounded"
reigned. There was a general uproar and threats of violence
were heard on all sides, everybody taking a hand in the mtie.
It was then that the speaker, a motion to adjourn having
been made, declared it carried, although the vote stood two
to one against it, and throwing down his gavel, left the chair.
Thereupon Connolly moved that Jones of Jo Daviess be
elected speaker pro tempore, put the motion and declared it car-
ried. A rush was then made by both sides for the vacant chair
which was reached first by Cummings, who took possession.
The members ranged themselves on each side and with such
weapons as they could secure prepared for a bloody struggle.
In the meantime, every possible effort had been made by a few
of the cooler-headed members to restore order and put an end
to the disgraceful proceedings. Jones was seized by his friends
832 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
and pulled back. Cummings vacated the chair. Haines
returned to the speaker's desk, and the gavel, which had been
held by Bogue, was restored to its place. Major Connolly
jumped upon his desk and advised the republicans to withdraw,
the democrats having agreed that they should have a fair show
on Monday. Jones also helped to calm the troubled waters by
apologizing to Plater; and finally, amid cheers and applause,
the members left the house.*
The laws passed by the twenty - ninth general assembly,
which adjourned April 15, 1875, are contained in a volume o.
118 pages smaller than that of any of its predecessors for the
last forty years. A general revision of the laws had just been
completed and no new questions of any pressing importance
had arisen. A few statutes were amended and the following
new laws, among others, were passed: to provide for the re-
organization of cities; for the trial of the right of property in
the county court; for operating elevated ways and conveyors,
to prevent frauds upon travelers, generally called the "scalper's
act;" the tax-refunding law; and an act to regulate and con-
solidate the State charitable institutions.
The twenty-eighth general assembly having provided for the
appointment of a board of managers to represent the interests
of Illinois at the Centennial exposition at Philadelphia in
1876, an appropriation of $10,000, all that could be secured,
was made to defray the expenses of the commission. The
board was composed of John P. Reynolds,^ president, John C.
* The following head-lines of leading papers show how the aTair was regarded at
the time :
Chicago Tribune: The sublime altitude of obloquy attained in the Illinois house
Saturday. The tumult precipitated by efforts to exclude a republican protest. A
splenetive and rash republican hurls a book at Plater. Whereat that incomparable
idiot flounders like an acephalous rooster. Drawn up in a plug-ugly affray, coward-
ice and not shame prevents a Tipperary head-smashing.
Chicago Times: Hell broke loose. Successful performance of the spectacular
drama of that name at Springfield. Introducing Plater, Jo Daviess' Jones, 'Lige
Haines, and Tom Merritt, in their great bear-dance. During great confusion the
show is declared adjourned.
t John Parker Reynolds, who for over a quarter of a century has been so promi-
nently and favorably connected with the agricultural and industrial interests of the
State, was born March I, 1820, in Lebanon, Warren County, Ohio, of parents who
were natives of eastern New York. He was educated at Miami University, Oxford,
Ohio, graduating with the class of 1838. Studied law and was graduated from the
THE CENTENNIAL OF 1876. 833
Smith, secretary, and Carlisle Mason of Chicago, Francis Col-
ton of Galesburg, A. C. Spofford of Rockford, Lawrence Wei-
don of Bloomington, and F. L. Matthews of Carlinville. They
succeeded in making a very creditable display of the agricultu-
ral products and manufactures, mineral resources, commercial
prominence, and educational advantages of Illinois, the State
ranking sixth in respect of the number of exhibitors and the
amount of space occupied.
This much in favor of the twenty-ninth general assembly
may be said, that it was the most economical in expenditures
of any since 1865, the amount charged up against it by the
auditor on account of the legislature being $221,810, as against
$539-39 f r tne twenty-eighth, and $693,062 for the twenty-
seventh general assembly.
The centennial year of 1876 is notable for its presidential
and other heated political contests. The seceding states had
all been restored to the Union in full possession of their sov-
ereignty and free from all interference in their domestic affairs
on the part of the general government They were now,
notwithstanding the constitutional amendments, principally
under the control of what was called the "rebel element" which
was in full fellowship with the democratic party of the
north, under whose flag and upon whose platforms all state
officers and members of the legislature were elected. Under
their peculiar method of conducting elections, by which the
colored vote was not permitted to effect the result, it soon be-
Cincinnati law-school with the class of 1840. Entered upon the practice in 1841 as
the partner of Gov. William Bebb. Removed to Winnebago County, Illinois, in
1850, thence to Marion County, Illinois, in 1854, thence to Springfield in 1860, and
thence to Chicago in 1869. From 1860-70, he held the position of secretary of the
State Agricultural Society. Was first president of the State Board of Agriculture
in 1871 and was a member of the society and board from 1860 until his resignation
in 1888. He was president of the Illinois State Sanitary Commission throughout the
civil war. Was the only state commissioner and also delegate of the State Agricul-
tural Society and one of the United States commissioners to the universal
exposition of 1867 in Paris, in attendance upon which he spent five months as com-
missioner and juryman. In 1873, he became the first secretary of the Inter-State
Industrial Exposition of Chicago and has continued to hold that position until the
present time. He also held the position of state inspector of grain from 1878-82.
In all of these positions, Mr. Reynolds has exhibited great ability as an organizer
and administrative officer.
S34 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
came an easy task to cement and hold together a "solid South."
The prospects for the success of the republican party were
further imperiled by the increasing strength of the Greenback-
Granger element, especially in Illinois, where, although not
polling the vote its leaders expected, it had nevertheless elected
a portion of its ticket and held the balance of power in the
legislature. The financial stringency which had followed the
failures and bankruptcies of 1873 still continued, and the pass-
age of the specie resumption law of January, 1875, in the face
of a demand from the West for more currency, had tended to
strengthen the opposition to republican ascendency, rather
than to conciliate the friends and supporters of the party in
power.
The Greenback, or Independent Reform, party was the first
to move, meeting in state convention at Decatur, and nominat-
ing the following ticket: for governor, Lewis Steward of
Kendall County; lieutenant-governor, James H. Pickrell of
Sangamon; secretary of state, M. M. Hooton; auditor of
public accounts, John Hise; treasurer, Henry T. Aspern;
attorney-general, Winfield S. Coy.
The national convention of this party was held at Indianap-
olis, May 17. Peter Cooper of New York, was nominated for
president, and Samuel F. Gary of Ohio, for vice - president.
The platform, relating almost exclusively to the currency, was
comprised in four planks, as follows: demanding the immedi-
ate and unconditional repeal of the resumption act; recom-
mending the issue of United-States legal-tender notes as the
circulating medium of the country; protesting against the
further issue of gold-bonds and against the sale of government
bonds for the purpose of purchasing silver to be used as a
substitute for fractional currency; and declaring against sub-
sidies to railroads.
The republican state -convention met at Springfield, May
24, 1876, and was presided over by Henry S. Baker of Madi-
son County; Daniel Shepard acting as the principal secretary.
The candidates for governor were Shelby M. Cullom, John L.
Beveridge, and Thomas S. Ridgway; and upon the first ballot
the former carried off the prize, the vote standing for Cullom
387, Beveridge 142, Ridgway 87. Gov. Beveridge made
STATE CONVENTIONS OF 1876. 835
a good showing considering the opposition to him in his own
county, Cook, which he was unable to overcome owing to the
formidable and persistent hostility of the Chicago Tribune,
which had lately returned to the support of the republican
party.
The strength of the numerous candidates for lieutenant-gov-
ernor was shown on the first ballot to be as follows: Andrew
Shuman of Cook received 186 votes; A. M. Jones of Jo Daviess,
170; Reuben M. Benjamin of McLean, 83; David Pierson* of
Greene, 36; Patrick H. Sanford of Knox, 47; George W. Vinton
of Rock Island, 47; J. W. Kitchell of Christian, 31 ; F. A. Leitz
of Clinton 16. The elevation of the last lieutenant-governor
to the executive chair had evidently increased the importance
of this position in the eyes of the politicians. Shuman suc-
ceeded in carrying off the nomination on the second ballot.
George H. Harlow was re-nominated for secretary of state
on the first ballot, his principal opponent being George Scroggs
of Vermilion; William H. Edgar of Jersey and John Moses
of Scott being also candidates for the nomination. Thomas B.
Needles of Washington County was nominated for auditor
against the then incumbent Charles E. Lippincott, who was
seeking a third term. Edward Rutz was made the candidate
the second time for treasurer. James K. Edsall was renomin-
ated for attorney-general, the other candidates being Charles
B. Steele of Edgar and Ethelbert Callahan of Crawford.
The platform adopted embraced the following points: con-
demning the policy of leniency toward the people of the South
lately in rebellion; favoring a lower rate of interest for United-
States bonds; the payment of the public debt in good faith,
and endorsing the present system of paper currency as the
* David Pierson, the old pioneer here mentioned, was born in Cazenovia, New
York, July 9, 1 806, and was one of the very earliest settlers in Green County, where
he removed with his father's family in 1821. He was an old whig, and thoroughly
believed that all the evils that ever befell this country could be traced to Andrew
Jackson and the rule of the democratic party. He was strongly anti-slavery and
helped to organize the republican party, and has been one of its most influential
supporters ever since. He has been a successful merchant, miller, and banker,
and as a leading member of the Baptist church conspicuous for his benevolence
and charity. He is still (June, 1890) living at his old home in Carrollton and has.
forgotten nothing of his politics or religion.
836 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
best ever devised; the purification of the public service "let
no guilty man escape;" remembering the soldiers with grati-
tude and their preference in appointments to office.*
The candidates for governor were called out at the close of
the proceedings and handsomely responded. The speech of
Gov. Beveridge, toward whom as the defeated candidate the
sympathies of the delegates had gone out, was most happily
conceived and eloquently delivered. It was well received by
an enthusiastic audience, and it was remarked that if the cir-
cumstances had justified the making of such an effort before
the balloting, the result might have been different. He closed
by referring to the candidates for president and, out of place
as it was, offered a resolution instructing the delegates to sup-
port James G. Blaine for president, which was adopted by a
standing vote, with three cheers. If the convention had had
any other honors to bestow, Gov. Beveridge would have re-
ceived his full share.
The republican national convention was held at Cincinnati,
beginning on June 14. The candidates for president, put in
nomination by their friends, were James G. Blaine of Maine,
Benjamin H. Bristow of Kentucky, Roscoe Conkling of New
York, John A. Hartranft of Pennsylvania, Rutherford B. Hayes
of Ohio, Marshall Jewell of Connecticut, and Oliver P. Morton
of Indiana. Gen. Hayes was nominated on the seventh ballot,
receiving 384 votes to 351 for Blaine and 21 for Bristow, and
his nomination made unanimous; William A. Wheeler of New
York was named for vice-president.
The platform recognized the pacification of the South and
demanded protection of all its citizens in the free enjoyment
of all their rights as a sacred duty; enjoined the enforcement
* The following were appointed delegates to the republican national convention :
at large, Robert G. Ingersoll, Joseph W. Robbins, Green B. Raum, and George D.
Banks. From districts, in their numerical order two from each, Sidney Smith,
George M. Bogue; John Me Arthur, S. K. Dow; Frank W. Palmer, Charles B.
Farwell; Wm. Coffin, E. E. Ayres; L. Burchell, Alexander Walker; A. R. Mack,
J. W. Hopkins; J. Everts, G. N. Chittenden; J. F. Culver, A. Burk; Thomas A.
Boyd, Enoch Emery; D. Mack, D. McDill; J. M. Davis, George W. Ware; Wm.
Prescott, N. W. Branson; C. R. Cummings, R. B. Latham; D. D. Evans, L. J.
Bond; Benson Wood, Thomas L. Golden; James S. Martin, George C. McCord;
John I. Rinaker, H. L. Baker; William M. Adams, Isaac C. Clements; F. D.
Ham, Wm. H. Robinson.
DEMOCRATIC CONVENTIONS. 837
of the constitutional amendments; endorsed the public-credit
act of 1869, pledging the faith of the government to make
provision, at the earliest practicable period, for the redemption
of the United -States notes in coin; opposing the dictation of
appointments by United - States senators and favoring civil
service; endorsing the public- school system of the United
States as the bulwark of the American Republic; favoring the
imposition of custom duties to promote the interests of Ameri-
can labor; opposing the further grant of public lands to cor-
porations and monopolies; approving the substantial advances
recently made toward the establishment of equal rights for
women and in favor of their appointment and election to the
superintendence of education, charities, and other public trusts;
demanding the extirpation of polygamy; and arraigning "the
democratic party as the same in character and spirit as when
it sympathized with treason."
The democrats held two state-conventions this year, both at
Springfield, the first, for the purpose of appointing delegates
to the national convention at St. Louis, and the second, to
nominate a state-ticket, July 27.*
The democratic national convention which met at St. Louis,
June 27, was presided over by Gen. J. A. McClernand of Illinois.
Samuel J. Tilden of New York was nominated for president
on the second ballot receiving 508 votes to 220 for all others.
The Illinois delegation on the first ballot stood 23 for Hen-
dricks and 19 for Tilden; on the second ballot 26 for Tilden
and 16 for Hendricks. Thomas A. Hendricks of Indiana was
the nearly unanimous choice of the convention for vice-presi-
dent.
The platform of the democrats, which was supposed to have
been prepared by Mr. Tilden, was a very able and elaborate
* The delegates from Illinois were as follows : at large, W. J. Allen, F. H. Wins-
ton, C. L. Higbee, Charles Dunham; from districts, Melville W. Fuller, John
Forsyth, S. S. Hayes, John C. Richberg, Perry H. Smith, Herman Lieb, Thomas
Butterworth, A. M. Herrington, W. H. Mitchell, M. W. Hathaway, W. H. Mes-
senhop, J. S. Drake, William Reddick, D. H. Phiney, J. Duff, J. E. Ong, John S.
Lee, S. P. Cummings, David Ellis, C. H. Whittaker, Linus E. Worcester, S. R.
Chittenden, John A. Me Clernand, James M. Epler, James T. Ewing, James T.
Hoblet, E. S. Terry, T. H. Macaughtery, Wm. M. Garrard, Wm. T. O'Hair, T.
B. Murray, G. Van Hombecke, William R. Walsh, G. Koerner, George W. Wall,
T. C. Crawford, W. Duff Green, S. F. Cheney.
838 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
document of which the key-note was "reform is necessary."
It was an arraignment of the republican party for its alleged
mis-government and mal-administration for the past eleven
years. It accepted the constitutional amendments; denounced
the present tariff for its unjustice and inequality; and although
favoring resumption, denounced the act providing therefor, and
demanded its repeal.
At the democratic state-convention, July 27, Lewis Steward,
the nominee of the Independent Greenback-Reformers, was
endorsed as a candidate for governor, and for the remainder
of the ticket: A. A. Glenn of Brown County for lieutenant-
governor; S. Y. Thornton of Fulton, for secretary of state;
John Rise, fusion, auditor; George Gundlack for treasurer;
and Edmund Lynch for attorney-general.
The platform of the national convention was reaffirmed, and
a separate resolution adopted against the employment of con-
vict labor where it comes into competition with free labor.
The nomination of Gen. Hayes was not such as to awaken
enthusiasm among the republicans. He was not the choice of
the representatives of the party, except as a compromise, nor
of the mass of the people. In Illinois particularly, the popu-
lar idol, as described by Colonel Ingersoll in his nominating
speech, was James G. Elaine, who "like a warrior, like a plumed
knight, marched down the halls of the American congress, and
threw his shining lance full and fair against the brazen fore-
head of every defamer of his country and maligner of its
honor." On the other hand, the nomination of ex-Governor
Tilden of New York, a man of marked ability and character
who had the credit of being largely instrumental in exposing
the frauds and corruptions of the notorious Tweed -ring in
New-York city and in denouncing the extravagant manage-
ment of the New- York canals, struck a popular chord which
increased in strength as the canvass progressed. The demo-
cratic platform, also, was well designed to arrest the thought
and command the attention of those who were not strongly
attached to any particular party, and of those republicans
who had begun to think that a change in the national govern-
ment would be wise and beneficial.
The campaign on the part of the democrats was under the
RESULTS OF THE ELECTION. 839
special conduct and control of Tilden himself, while that
of the republicans was solely managed by that "old wheel-
horse" of the party, Senator Zachariah Chandler. As the reports
came in on the night of the election, that the democrats had
carried New York, Indiana, Connecticut, and New Jersey, all
the doubtful states, it was generally supposed that with the
electoral vote of the solid South, Tilden's election was assured;
but the resolute and determined old senator had received
favorable news from South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida,
and on the next morning he sent over the country that historic
dispatch, "Rutherford B. Hayes has received one hundred and
eighty-five electoral votes and is elected."
The subsequent controversy over the returns from these
states and the hearing before the "eight-to-seven" electoral
commission, resulting in favor of Gen. Hayes, confirmed the
stand taken by the republicans. Gov. Tilden's plurality on the
popular vote over Gen. Hayes was 250,970.
The combined opposition to the republicans in Illinois failed
because of the weakness of their ticket no less than of the
strength of that headed by S. M. Cullom, and the able and
thorough canvass made by him and the party leaders. The
general tendency of the floating and undecided vote toward
the democrats was hard to restrain or control. The republican
electors received 277,227 votes, the democratic 258,445, and
the Peter Cooper 17,232, leaving only the small majority of
1560 in favor of Gen. Hayes.
When the returns first began to come in, as the opposition
was united upon Steward, it was thought that Cullom was
beaten. Cook County, which had always been relied upon for
from 8,000 to 15,000 republican majority, gave Steward a
majority of 181; Champaign, which gave Hayes over 1400
gave Cullom only 800. Hayes carried DeWitt by over 700,
and Cullom by only 28; Livingston gave Hayes 1416 major-
ity and Cullom 182. In the county of McLean, Cullom fell
short nearly 600 and in Will nearly 700. Hamilton County,
which gave only 806 majority for Tilden, gave Steward 1445
majority; but in other counties, Cullom ran ahead of his
ticket. The full returns in the State showing: Cullom for
governor 279,263, Steward 272,465, scattering 365 ; Shuman
840 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND -STATISTICAL.
for lieutenant-governor 278,167; Glenn 255,970; Pickrell 18,-
053. Harlow's plurality was 22,467; Rutz's 22,744, Edsall's
21,419, Needles' majority 5,198.
Gov. Beveridge left the chair of state with its finances and
various benevolent and reformatory institutions in a most grati-
fying condition. The public debt, which amounted to $2,060,-
150, December I, 1872, had been paid off as fast as it fell due,
reducing the same up to Dec. I, 1876, to $1,480,600. He had
been patient, conservative, and faithful in the administration
of the state government during a period of unusual political
agitation, of depression in business, of controversies over the
railroad-transportation question, and other disturbing elements
growing up under the adjusting period after the war.
The concluding message of the governor was devoted en-
tirely to state affairs, excepting at its close, when in view of
the pending efforts to adjust the presidential election contro-
versy, he remarked, as follows: "I advise moderation, invoke
wise councils, and supplicate peace. We want no more war.
The blood of the late fratricidal strife still reddens the earth;
the graves of the fallen are yet fresh and visible; their widows
and orphans are still among us; the griefs and sorrows of the
heart are yet unassuaged. Keeping in grateful remembrance
the heroic sacrifice for our Country, let us lay aside all
animosity and bitterness, heal the broken hearts, build up the
waste places, and bind all sections of our beloved Country
forever together by the bonds of prosperity and love. No
matter how the presidential question may be eventually decided
by the proper authorities, for one I shall willingly submit to
the decision, and join all persons of every party for the
maintenance of law, the preservation of public order, and
the protection of all citizens of every race, color, and condi-
tion in the full and peaceable enjoyment and exercise of all
their rights, privileges, and immunities under the laws."
In 1881, ex-Gov. Beveridge was appointed assistant United-
States treasurer at Chicago which position he held four years.
He has now retired from politics and gives his entire attention
to his private business.
Of IHt
..
CHAPTER XLIV.
Administration of Gov. Cullom Thirtieth General Assem-
bly Election of David Davis to the United - States
Senate Laws Labor Strikes Politics in 1878
Elections Thirty-first General Assembly.
QHELBY MOORE CULLOM was the fourth consecutively-
O elected governor of the State of Illinois who was a native
of the neighboring State of Kentucky, where he was born at
Monticello in Wayne County, November 22, 1829. He was so
young, however, less than two years of age, when his parents
removed to Tazewell County in this State, that he might
almost consider himself a native Illinoisan.
Richard Northcut Cullom, his father, was a leading and influ-
ential whig in his day, and acceptably represented his district
in the tenth, twelfth, thirteenth, and eighteenth Illinois general
assemblies.
It was a singular coincidence, and so interesting that the
reader will pardon the digression, that the father of General
Logan, Dr. John Logan, after whom the county of Logan was
named, also represented his district in the tenth and twelfth
general assemblies. It thus happened that Illinois at one time
was represented in the United-States senate by two members
whose fathers had formerly sat side by side in the State
legislature.
The governor's father was a farmer, and the future states-
man was early accustomed to the homely fare and training
incident to farm-life in a new country. He learned to swing
the ax and guide the plow; and thus laid up a store of physical
strength needed in a sedentary life. In those early days,
educational advantages were of a limited description and
generally confined to such as were afforded by the public school.
Shelby Cullom, however, feeling the need of a broader culture,
was not content with these, and, though hampered by the want
of means, was enabled to spend two years in study at the
Rock- River Seminary at Mount Morris, though in order to
54 841
842 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
maintain himself, he found it necessary, as did Garfield and
Elaine, to devote some time to teaching.
Having determined to follow a professional life, in 1853, he
entered the office of Stuart and Edwards in Springfield to
study law. He was admitted to the bar and began to prac-
tise in 1855. Soon after this, he was elected city attorney and
from the trial of the smaller class of municipal cases in the
justice's court, soon entered upon a larger and more lucrative
practice, his studious and abstemious habits and faithful atten-
tion to the interests of his clients being such as to recommend
him to the business community. In the upper courts, he fre-
quently found himself confronting some of the foremost lawyers
in the State, in which contests his habits of close application
stood him in good stead.
Before the era of railroad building and of the growth of
corporations, the practice of law in this and other western
states was not a lucrative occupation, as large fees were the
exception. It is hardly to be wondered at, therefore, that the
best lawyers in the State, during this early period, should be
unable to resist the temptation to enter the field of politics,
where the opportunity was presented not only for bettering
their worldly fortunes but also for bringing an increase of
fame and gratifying a pardonable ambition.
In 1856, as has been already shown, Gov. Cullom made his
first appearance in the political arena by entering the race for
membership of the lower house of the legislature. Influenced
by his early training and a warm admiration for Millard
Fillmore, he owed his election to his alliance with the Ameri-
can party. His sympathies, however, had always been with
the republicans, and being a warm personal friend of Abraham
Lincoln, he gave him his cordial support in his contest with
Judge Douglas for the United-States senate in 1858. Thence-
forth his political fortunes were linked with those of the repub-
lican party and he was the only one of its candidates for the
legislature elected in 1860 in Sangamon County, which gave
Douglas a small majority. His election to the speakership of
the twenty-second general assembly was a compliment not
only to his success but to his ability. The chair of the house,
although it had been graced by Zadoc Casey, Newton Cloud,
GOVERNOR CULLOM. 843
and Sydney Breese with such distinguished ability, had never
been more worthily occupied.
In 1862, he was appointed by President Lincoln on an im-
portant claims commission upon which were also Gov. Bout-
well of Massachusetts, and Chas. A. Dana of New York. This
same year he was prevailed upon to become a candidate for
the state senate, but owing to the unpopularity of the war at
this its darkest period, he suffered his first and only defeat.
In 1864, he received the republican nomination for congress
in the old eighth district and defeated his former preceptor,
John T. Stuart. He was reflected in 1866 and 1868, the time
of service embracing that eventful period when the questions
of reconstruction, the funding and payment of the national
debt, and the readjustment of the currency, were under con-
sideration. In shaping the national policy upon all these vital
questions in congress, he occupied a leading position, taking
an aggressive and influential part in the debates and proceed-
ings. He was specially conspicuous in securing the passage
through the lower house of the first anti-polygamy bill.
He failed to receive a renomination for a fourth term in con-
gress, and with a new candidate the district was lost to the
republicans. Returning home, he was again honored with a
seat in the legislature, 1873, and for the second time was elected
speaker of the house. He was also returned as a member of
the twenty - ninth general assembly, and would have been
again called to the speaker's chair but for a coalition of demo-
crats and independents, who together outnumbered the repub-
licans. It was with such an experience in public life, broader
and more varied than any of his predecessors, that Governor
Cullom came to occupy the executive chair of state.
Although his many years of public life have made him so
well known to the present generation, it may not be out of the
way to remark that in person he is tall and spare; his hair is
black, his forehead high and massive; his features clearly cut
and expressive. In general contour of face and figure, he
reminds those who knew them both of Abraham Lincoln, whom
indeed he resembles in many of his mental characteristics.
Unlike that great man, however, the senator possesses a natu-
ral ease of carriage and grace of manner which have in no
small degree contributed to his popularity.
844 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
His cast of mind is solid rather than showy, and his oratory
convincing rather than ornate. His rhetoric is unpolished and
his illustrations homely, drawn indeed, from subjects familiar
to his audiences, with whom he establishes a friendly feeling
conducive to conviction the end of oratory. He is greatly
assisted in his speeches by the possession of a full, round
voice, of large compass, and that sympathetic quality which
captivates attention.
As a politician, Gov. Cullom has proved himself one of the
most astute and far-seeing which the State has yet produced;
and his public career has demonstrated the fact that he pos-
sesses those higher attributes which belong to statesmanship.
To a judgment of men and affairs far above the average, he
unites that plain, hard common-sense which formed one of the
prominent traits in the character of Lincoln. His political
sagacity has been demonstrated in many ways, but especially
in the fact that he alone of all those aspirants for public
honors in the State, who were unable to appeal to the people
on the score of heroic service in the civil war, has thus far
enjoyed a career of uninterrupted success.
Andrew Shuman, whose name followed that of Shelby M.
Cullom on the republican state-ticket elected in November,
1876, was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in Novem-
ber, 1830. Thrown upon his own resources at an early age,
his literary education was begun in the composing-room of
the Lancaster Times and Sentinel, which he entered at the
age of fifteen years. His business life was devoted to journal-
ism, his earliest editorial venture having been made when he
was but nineteen years old, when he published a small literary
sheet known as the Auhtrnian, of which he was at once the
editor, foreman, typo, devil, and pressman. Feeling the want
of the education which circumstances had prevented his acquir-
ing in boyhood, he abandoned editorial work to enter Hamil-
ton College, becoming a freshman at the now-a-day's mature
age of twenty- one, and supporting himself through his
college course by desultory literary labor and working at the
case during vacation. He came to Illinois in 1856 and began
his career as a western journalist in the chair of assistant-
editor of the Chicago Daily Journal, becoming editor in chief
in 1861, and subsequently part owner of the paper.
Ml UBWHY
Of THE
RSiIV Q? li.i
LIEUT.-GOVERNOR SHUMAN. 845
His political affiliations from his earliest manhood had been
republican, his first venture into the field of partisan journalism
having been in the control of the Syracuse, New York, Daily
Journal, a position which he assumed at the earnest request
of the friends of William H. Seward.
Gov. Shuman's first public office in Illinois was that of com-
missioner of the Illinois penitentiary, to which he was elected
in 1864 and which he resigned in 1871. His nomination to the
office of lieutenant-governor in 1876 was in recognition of long
and faithful service to his party. His record as presiding officer
of the senate can not be assailed; to dignity he united courtesy,
and while himself an ardent partisan, the impartiality of his
rulings commanded the respect of his political opponents.*
The thirtieth general assembly convened in the new state-
house, now nearly completed, January 3, 1877. In the senate,
there were 21 republicans, 22 democrats, and 8 independents.
The new senators were: Daniel N. Bash, Francis A. Riddle,
Martin A. DeLany"of Cook County, Merritt L. Josslyn of Me
Henry, Robert H. McClellan of Jo Daviess, Henry D. Dement
of Lee, Joseph H. Mayborne of Kane, Thomas P. Bonfield of
Kankakee, Samuel T. Fosdick of Livingston, Henry J. Frantz
of Woodford, Benjamin C. Talliaferro of Mercer, Wm. Scott
of Hancock, John M. Hamilton of Me Lean, Chester P. Davis
of Piatt, Maiden Jones of Douglas, Elizur Southworth of Mont-
gomery, Luther Dearborn of Mason, George W. Herd man of
Jersey, F. E. W. Brink of Washington, Robert P. Hanna of
Wayne, Charles E. McDowell of White, and Ambrose Hoener
of Monroe. All the others were either "hold-overs" or re-
elected. Fawcett Plumb was elected president //v tempore, and
James H. Paddock, secretary.
In the house, 79 were counted as republicans, 67 as demo-
crats, and 7 as independents. Twenty-nine members had been
reflected or had served in former legislatures, namely: Moses J.
Wentworth, Solomon P. Hopkins, and Michael J. Dunne from
* After the expiration of his term of service as lieutenant-governor, he devoted
himself to the editorship of the Journal. In 1889, his health having become
impaired by overwork, he made a visit to Europe, returning in the summer much
improved. He, however, did not again resume the active management of his paper,
though retaining the presidency of the Journal Company. He died suddenly in
Chicago on the evening of May 6, 1890.
846 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Cook; F. K. Granger from Me Henry; W. A. James, Lake;
Andrew Ashton, Winnebago; Edward L. Cronkrite, Lee; James
Shaw, Carroll; James Herrington, Kane; Luke H. Goodrich,
Will; Geo. W. Armstrong, LaSalle; James J. Herron, Bureau;
John T. Browning, John P. Fox, Rufus M. Grennel, the three
members elected from the twenty-first district an unusual
occurrence Joseph F. Latimer, Knox; C. W. Boydston, War-
ren; E. K. Westfall, McDonough; John F. Winter and T. P.
Rogers, McLean; Samuel S.Jack, Macon; Jacob H. Oakwood,
Vermilion; John N. English, Jersey; Samuel A. Buckmaster,
Madison; Frederick Remann, Fayette; Thomas E. Merritt,
Marion; John H. Rally, Jasper; James M. Washburn, Will-
iamson; Fontaine E. Albright, Jackson.
Among the new members were the following: W. H. Thomp-
son, Charles L. Easton, J. W. E. Thomas, Joseph E. Smith,
James B. Taylor, Henry F. Sheridan, Elijah B. Sherman, Jos.
J. Kearney, John A. Roche, Peter Kiolbassa, Eugene A. Sittig,
Arno Voss, Austin O. Sexton, John H. Kedzie, and George C.
Klehm of Cook; Bernard H. Truesdell, Lee; Henry H. Evans,
Kane; James G. Wright, DuPage; Conrad Secrest, Iroquois;
Lucien B. Crooker, LaSalle; Charks Baldwin, Bureau; Charles
F. Robison, Fulton; Detrich C. Smith, Tazewell; Thomas F.
Mitchell, McLean; Robert L. M cKinlay, Edgar; Henry A.
Neal, Coles; John Mayo Palmer, and DeWitt W. Smith, San-
gomon; Jacob Wheeler, Mason; Thomas G. Black, Adams; Asa
C. Matthews, Pike; Isaac L. Morrison, and William P. Gallon,
Morgan; Richard Rowett, Macoupin; Ross Graham, White;
Theophilus T. Fountain, Perry; William S. Morris, Hardin.*
James Shaw, a leading lawyer of Carroll County, who had
served with distinction in the twenty-eighth general assembly,
was elected speaker, receiving 78 votes to 65 for S. A. Buck-
master, and 8 for Andrew Ashton. E. F. Button was elected
clerk.
Mr. Shaw was born in Ireland, May 3, 1832, and was brought
to this State in infancy, where he was raised on a farm in Cass
County. After graduating from Illinois College, he was admitted
to the bar, and removed to Mt. Carroll, where he has since
* In the senate, there were 27 lawyers, 1 1 farmers, and 6 bankers. In the house,
41 lawyers, 33 farmers, 25 merchants, besides bankers, physicians, etc.
INAUGURATION CEREMONIES. 847
resided. He was a presidential elector in 1872, and has been
a member of the state central committee. Mr. Shaw filled the
speaker's chair with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of
his friends.
The formal ceremonies of inauguration attending a change
of state administration resemble each other. This year, 1877,
this event occurred on January 8, and to "preserve the record"
may be briefly summarized as follows: The governor and other
state -officers elect were escorted to the capitol by a civic and
military procession headed by a brass-band. At one o'clock,
the house was called to order by the speaker, and in a few
minutes thereafter, the members rising, the senate, preceded by
its president Fawcett Plumb, was received and seated. Then
came the members of the supreme court, headed by the vener-
able Sidney Breese, who were assigned places on the rostrum.
In the meantime, a brilliant audience, composed of the ttite of
the capital and other large cities, had been admitted by tickets
to seats in the spacious gallery and on the floor. At two o'
clock, Governor-elect Cullom, accompanied by state -officers and
Senator Logan, entered the hall. Prayer was offered by Rev.
Albert Hale, the oldest minister in Springfield. The oath of
office was then administered by Chief-Justice Sheldon. Ex-Gov.
Beveridge next advanced to the speaker's desk and delivered
a brief valedictory address, handing over to hi: successor the
keys of the executive chamber and insignia of office. The
inaugural address of Gov. Cullom followed in order; at the
close of which the senate retired to its chamber where Lieu-
tenant-Governor Shuman was duly installed, and also delivered
a brief address.
Gov. Cullom's address gave evidence of statesmanlike quali-
ties and as an able state paper was generally commended. A
considerable portion of it was devoted to the discussion of the
revenue law, pointing out its defects and suggesting amend-
ments. He also dwelt at some length upon the pending presi-
dential controversy, advising a peaceable acquiescence in what-
ever result might be constitutionally and legally reached.
Edward F. Leonard, who had been connected with the
auditor's department for many years and had filled several
positions of trust and confidence with marked ability, was
ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
honored by the governor with the appointment of private secre-
tary.*
There is never much business done in either house of the
legislature until after the selection and appointment of the
committees, which usually consumes nearly two weeks' time.
The interval at this session was employed by the members
in discussing the pending election of a United -States senator
to succeed Gen. Logan, whose term would expire March 4.
The independents, of whom there were eight in the senate
and seven in the house, held the balance of power, their vote
combined with that of the democrats giving an majority of four.
There was no serious opposition among regular republicans to
the reelection of Gen. Logan, although it was considered im-
politic to make the fight in his favor as if he were the only
member of the party who could be elected. A few members
remained out of the caucus on this account.
The democratic members selected John M. Palmer as their
candidate with great unanimity. The independents, though
comparatively so insignificant in numbers, could not agree upon
a candidate those of the senate having decided in favor of
Gen. William B. Anderson, while those of the house preferred
Judge David Davis.
The election of a United- States senator is governed by a law
of congress,*}- which provides that on the second Tuesday after
the meeting and organization of any state legislature, "each
house shall openly, by a viva-voce vote of each member present,
name one person for senator in congress from such state, and
the name of the person so voted for, who receives a majority of
the whole number of votes cast in each house, shall be entered
on the journal of that house by the clerk or secretary thereof;
or if either house fails to give such majority to any person on
that day, the fact shall be entered on the journal. At twelve
o'clock meridian of the day following that on which proceed-
ings are required to take place as aforesaid, the members of the
* Mr. Leonard was born in Connecticut in 1836. He graduated at Union College,
N.Y. ; was admitted to the bar, and removed to Springfield in 1858, where he has
since resided. He has of late years devoted his energies to railroad interests and
is now president of the Toledo, -Peoria, - and- Western Railway.
t Revised Statutes of United States, 1875 page 3.
DAVID DAVIS ELECTED UNITED-STATES SENATOR. 849
two houses shall convene in joint assembly, and the journal of
each house shall then be read, and if the same person has
received a majority of the votes in each house, he shall be
declared duly elected senator. But if the same person has not
received a majority of the votes in each house, or if either
house has failed to take proceedings as herein required, the
joint assembly shall then proceed to choose, by a viva-voce
vote of each member present, a person for senator, and the
person who receives a majoriry of all the votes of the joint-
assembly, a majority of all the members elected to both houses
being present and voting, shall be declared duly elected. If no
person receives such majority on the first day, the joint assem-
bly shall meet at twelve o'clock meridian of each succeeding
day during the session of the legislature, and shall take at least
one vote, until a senator is elecled."
On Tuesday, Jan. 16, 1877, the vote required by the above
law was taken by each house and resulted as follows: in the
senate, John A. Logan received 20 votes, John M. Palmer 22,
William B. Anderson 7, Elihu Benjamin Washburne I, and one
blank. The vote in the house was for Logan 77, Palmer 67,
David Davis 7, William Lathrop I. No one having received a
majority, the two houses met in joint -session on the I7th and
proceeded to vote with the following result:
Logan, 20 senators, 78 representatives = 98
Palmer, 22 senators, 66 representatives = 88
Anderson, 7 senators, = 7
Davis, , 6 representatives = 6
Senator Buehler voted for Elihu B. Washburne and Senator
Haines for W. H. Parrish.
Twelve ballots were had with but little change when the
joint-session adjourned. On the following day, six ballots were
taken with about the same results; and on Friday five efforts
were made, the independents uniting their strength on Ander-
son thus giving him 13 votes. On Monday the 22d, Palmer's
name was withdrawn and the democrats began to vote for
Anderson, who received 62 votes on the 24th ballot, which
were increased to 85 on the 25th. Logan's vote continued the
same, and the balance were scattering. On the morning of the
850 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
24th, it becoming evident that General Logan could not obtain
the 4 votes required to elect, his name was reluctantly with-
drawn, the bulk of the republicans voting for Judge C. B. Law-
rence, and the democrats having failed to effect a union upon
Anderson began to vote for Davis; the 3fjth ballot standing as
follows: for Lawrence 81, Davis 98, John C. Haines 15, and 4
scattering. The vote of Haines at one time reached 69. The
contest continued until January 25, when it was terminated by
the election of Judge Davis on the 4Oth ballot which resulted as
follows: Davis 101, Lawrence 94, Haines 3, Logan I, Parish I.
No inducements could bring the independents to the support of
either of the other parties, while the democrats preferred to
accept Davis rather than prolong the struggle at the risk of a
republican success.
David Davis, thus transferred from the United-States supreme
court to the senate, was a native of Maryland, where he was
born in Cecil County, March 9, 1815. He graduated at Kenyon
College, Ohio, in 1832, studied law in Massachusetts, and re-
moved to McLean County in this State in 1835. He was a
member of the fourteenth general assembly, 1844, and of the
constitutional convention of 1847. In 1848, he was elected
judge of the eighth judicial circuit, and reflected in 1855, and
in 1861. He was an old whig and warm personal friend of
Abraham Lincoln, who appointed him to a seat on the bench
of the United-States supreme court in 1862.
He was neither a greenbacker, nor an anti-monopolist in the
political sense in which those terms were used, but having
separated from the republican party on the question of the
impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, he was regarded
as sufficiently independent to serve as the candidate of that
party. He acted in the senate as much with the republicans as
with the democrats, and upon the death of President Garfield,
was elected president of the senate in 1880, which position he
continued to fill until the close of his term. In 1884, he sup-
ported Elaine and Logan.*
The thirtieth general assembly remained in session until May
24, and passed, among others, the following laws: to provide
the manner of proposing amendments to the state constitution;
* He died at his old home in Bloomington, June 26, 1886.
NEW RAILROAD-AND-WAREHOUSE COMMISSIONERS. 8$ I
providing for voluntary assignments and conferring jurisdiction
therein upon county-courts; to provide for the organization of
the state militia; to create a commission of claims; changing
the fiscal year, and time of making reports to the governor to
November i; to create and establish a state board of health;
to regulate the practice of medicine; to compel railroad com-
panies to build and maintain depots for the comfort of passen-
gers; for the protection of passengers on railroads; to establish
appellate courts. This measure, provided for in the new consti-
tution, had become a necessity in order to relieve the over-
crowded docket of the supreme court. Four courts, composed
of three circuit-judges each, were formed to sit respectively at
Chicago, Springfield, Ottawa, and Mt. Vernon.
On February 21, there was appointed by the governor and
confirmed by the senate a new board of railroad-and-warehouse
commissioners, as follows: Wm. M. Smith, George M. Bogue,
and John H. Oberly. The first-named was selected as president
of the board and Mat H. Chamberlain of Beardstown appointed
secretary.
The governor had hardly been comfortably seated in the
executive chair, when the great railroad strike of July, 1877,
was inaugurated. The continued hard times and depreciation
in values had naturally effected prices and wages. Manufact-
urers, miners, and railroad companies felt compelled to reduce
their expenses, and to make a corresponding reduction in
the compensation paid their employes. Laboring men, not
only in Illinois but throughout the country, became restless,
dissatisfied, and aggressive in their demands. That antago-
nism between capital and labor arose which always becomes
the most pronounced when the former finds itself doing busi-
ness at a loss, and the latter is able to earn barely the necessa-
ries of life. A general strike, organized at Pittsburg, was
ordered. This was an opportunity which the wilfully idle,
the vagrant, and the turbulent anarchist seized upon for the
purposes of plunder and destruction. In July, the ferment
culminated. Riotous and uncontrollable meetings were held in
various portions of the country, and mobs prompted by a
wild frenzy took forcible possession of manufactories, mines,
and railroads. Riots followed, with calamitous fires and the
ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
destruction of millions of dollars worth of property. Business
was prostrated. Cars loaded with grain, flour, and live-stock,
were side-tracked and not a wheel allowed to turn. Railway-
trains, machine-shops, yards, and factories, at Chicago, Peoria,
Galesburg, Decatur, East St. Louis, and at some minor points,
were in the hands of furious mobs, as also were the mines at
Braidwood, LaSalle, and other places. Hostilities began in
Chicago on July 25, by a desperate conflict between the rioters
and the police.
The governor was called upon for troops to aid the civil
authorities. Under the new law, which had only been in force
a few weeks, but little had been done toward the reorganization
of the militia, but the entire military force of the State under
command of Major- General Arthur C. Ducat was called out.
The three brigades were respectively commanded by Brigadier-
Generals, J. T. Torrence, E. N. Bates, and C. W. Pavey Hiram
Hilliard being the state adjutant -general. To the force at
Chicago, were added six companies of United- States troops
which had been stopped on their way east by the request of the
governor.
The presence of the troops and their distribution at threat-
ened points over the city soon wrought a favorable change.
The unlawful crowds were dispersed and business returned to
its ordinary channels. Gen. Ducat with the 3d regiment, Col.
Joseph W. R. Stambough, and the loth battalion of infantry
under Lt.-Col. J. B. Parsons, proceeded to Braidwood, where
there had been serious disturbances; order was soon restored
here also.
The 2d and 3d brigades had been ordered to East St. Louis,
where the mob, estimated at 10,000, was terrorizing the citizens
and setting the civil authorities at defiance. The governor
appeared upon the scene in person and directed the manoeuvr-
ing of the troops. The ringleaders of the mob were arrested
and the trains were successfully guarded out of the city. So
wise and judicious had been the arrangements that by July 31,
the trouble was at an end. While the destruction of property
was not so great in this State as in some others, the loss by the
stoppage of trade was immense, necessitating the suspension
and failure of many banks and business houses.
Ml URRARY
OF IHE
'S:T7 Q; I1.L1K3IS
STATE CONVENTIONS IN 18/8. 853
In the meantime, the agitation of those political questions, in
which it was supposed the public welfare was most involved,
continued with unabated interest in congress and among the
people.
The democrats and independent reformers were generally
agreed in favor of a demand for the repeal of the resumption
law but were unable to come together upon other questions.
The last-named party were the first to throw down the political
gauntlet for the biennial contest of 1878, calling their state
convention to meet at Springfield, March 27. About 150 dele-
gates reported. Gen. Erastus N. Bates was nominated for state
treasurer and Frank H. Hall of Kane County for superinten-
dent of public instruction. The platform contained the usual
utterances in favor of the exclusive function of the government
to coin and create money and regulate its value ; the suppression
of all banks of issue; the supply of all needed money by con-
gress; of the taxation of government bonds and money; and
against the contract system of labor in prisons and reformatory
institutions.
The democratic state - convention followed next in order
April 1 1. All efforts to effect a junction with the greenbackers
had signally failed and indeed did not seem to be desired by
either party. Edward L. Cronkrite, of Lee County, received
the nomination for state treasurer on the third ballot, and S. M.
Etter, the then incumbent, that for state superintendent of
public instruction on the first ballot. The platform was reported
by W. C. Goudy of Chicago, and upon the principal questions
at issue contained the following planks: in favor of a tariff for
revenue only; of the taxation of United -States bonds and
treasury notes, the same as other property; "of the immediate
and unconditional repeal of the resumption act;" of the re-
monetization of silver; of the substitution of treasury notes
greenbacks in the place of national-bank notes; of the imme-
diate repeal of the bankrupt law; against any further reduction
of the principal of the public debt at present; and that it is the
exclusive prerogative of the United States to issue all bills to
circulate as money. Comparing this political deliverance with
that of the same party two years before, a wide divergence
will be observed, so great indeed, that the state organ of the
854 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
party at Springfield, the State Register, then understood to be
conducted by ex-Gov. Palmer, came out strongly in denuncia-
tion of ^ome of the resolutions. That paper said, "The resolu-
tion which looks to the postponement of all further payments
on the public debt, rests upon the false theory that the public
debt may, without mischief, be perpetuated. Sound policy
demands that the public debt be paid as rapidly as possible,
without improperly burdening the people." * * It farther
stated that if the result of democratic success would be to
establish the theory that the United States had the power to
issue paper bills to circulate as money, "then the success of
the party would not be a success but a calamity."
The republican state-convention met at Springfield, June 26,
and although it was an off year, it was the largest ever held in
the State. W. A. James, of Lake County, was the temporary
and Charles E. Lippincott the permanent president, and Daniel
Shepard, secretary. There was an animated contest over both
the nominations to be made. For state treasurer, the principal
candidates were Gen. John C. Smith, Thomas S. Ridgway, and
E. C. Hamburger. The informal ballot disclosed the following
result, Ridgway 206, Smith 174, Hamburger 150, and 113 scat-
tering. Smith was nominated on the third ballot. James P.
Slade, of St. Clair County, was nominated for superintendent
of public instruction on the second ballot, his principal competi-
tor being W. H. Powell of Kane County.
The platform adopted was short and non-committal on nearly
all national questions. The discussions of the day and supposed
tendency of the government to reduce the volume of green-
backs in circulation, were not without its effect, as the following
concession to that sentiment shows: "We are also opposed to
any farther contraction of the greenback currency, and are in
favor of such currency as can be maintained at par with, and
convertible into coin at the will of the holder. We are in favor
of such currency being received for impost duties." Speeches
were made by Generals Oglesby, Logan, and Hurlbut, and by
E. A. Storrs the address of the latter having been carefully
prepared for the occasion, was delivered with telling effect and
published in the papers at length.
The election resulted in the success of the republican candi-
THIRTY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 855
dates, although that party was in a minority in the State of
about 30,000. The following are the figures:
STATE TREASURER SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
Smith, republican, 206,458 Slade, republican, 205,461
Cronkrite, democrat, 170,085 Etter, democrat, 171,336
Bates, greenbacker, 65,689 Hall, greenbacker, 65,487
Jerome A. Gorin, prohibit. 2,228 Kate Hopkins, prohibit. 2,109
The republicans not only elected their state ticket and eleven
out of the nineteen members of congress, but succeeded also,
for the first time in six years, in securing a majority in both
houses of the general assembly, which convened Jan. 8, 1879.
The new senators were, Sylvester Artley, William J. Camp-
bell, William T. Johnson, and George E. White, from Cook
County; Charles Bent, Whiteside; William P. Gallon, Morgan;
Milton M. Ford, Henry; Chas. E. Fuller, Boone; Geo. Hunt,
and L. D. Whiting, reflected; Maurice Kelley, Adams; An-
drew J. Kuykendall, Johnson; Samuel R. Lewis, LaSalle; John
R. Marshall, Kendall; Abram Mayfield, Logan; Thomas E.
Merritt, Marion; Willam T. Moffett, Macon; Sylvester W. Munn,
Will; William H. Neece, McDonough; Alfred J. Parkinson,
Madison; Erastus N. Rinehart, Effingham; John Thomas, St.
Clair; Meredith Walker, Fulton; William C.Wilson, Crawford;
Samuel L. Cheney, Saline. John M. Hamilton was elected
president //v tempore, and James H. Paddock, secretary.
Among former members returned to the house were the fol-
lowing: E. B. Sherman, Austin O. Sexton, Wm. H. Thompson,
Moses J. Wentworth, and Solomon P. Hopkins of Cook; F. K.
Granger, W. A. James, James Shaw, F. N. Tice, B. H. Trues-
dell, J. G. Wright, James Herrington, Conrad Secrest, Lucien
B. Crooker, C. H. Frew, S. F. Otman, Charles Fosbender, J. F.
Latimer, John J. Reaburn, C. F. Robison, William T. McCreery,
Thomas F. Mitchell, T. P. Rogers, R. L. McKinlay, Orlando B.
Ficklin, Henry A. Neal, Jacob Wheeler, Asa C. Matthews, Isaac
L. Morrison, J. N. English, and Andrew J. Reavell. The follow-
ing, among others, appeared for the first time: David W. Clark,
Benjamin M. Wilson, Patrick T. Barry, Lewis H. Bisbee, Wm.
E. Mason, C. Meyer, Horace H. Thomas, Lorin C. Collins, jr.,
and Geo. G. Struckman from Cook County; Omar H. Wright,
856 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Boone; Thomas Buttervvorth, Winnebago; James I. Neff, Lee;
W. H. Allen, Whiteside; M. H. Peters, Iroquois; Anthony R.
Mock and Jas. W. Simonson, Henry; David H. Harts, Lincoln;
Henry A. Ewing, McLean; Bradford K. Durfee, Macon; Wm.
A. Day, George Scroggs, and James Core, Champaign; John
G. Holden, Vermilion; William L. Gross, Sangamon; John
F. Snyder, Cass; Joseph N. Carter, Adams; George E. Warren,
Jersey; Wm. R. Prickett, John M. Pearson, Madison; Charles
Churchill, Edwards; John M. Gregg, Saline; John T. McBride,
John R. McFie, Randolph; Joseph Veile, St. Clair; Charles H.
Layman, Jackson; Thomas W. Halliday, Alexander.
The contest for the speakership among the republicans, con-
nected as it was with the election of a United-States senator to
succeed Gov. Oglesby, was one of more than ordinary interest.
Isaac L. Morrison of Morgan, an eminent lawyer and leading
member of the last house, and a pronounced supporter of Gen.
Logan, had the largest following and was supposed to have
the inside track. The other candidates were Col. William A.
James of Lake, having large business interests in Chicago, and
who had served four years with distinction in the late war;
Thomas F. Mitchell, a lumber merchant of Bloomington, who
had made a creditable record in the last house for efficient ser-
vice and as a parliamentarian; and ex -Speaker James Shaw.
The strength of the candidates in the caucus was shown to be
as follows: for Morrison, the highest vote, 28, James 26, Mit-
chell 17, Shaw 9. Morrison was unable to combine the Logan
strength upon himself, it appearing afterward, indeed, that
James, who was supposed to be for Oglesby or Farwell, was a
supporter of Logan. The colonel was selected on the fifth
ballot. The nominee of the democrats was James Herrington,
the vote in the house standing 81 for James, 59 for Herrington,
and 9 for Calvin H. Frew, independent reformer. Col. James
made a fine appearance in the speaker's chair and was a fairly
good presiding officer.* The secretaryship fell to W. B. Taylor.
The governor's message was devoted exclusively to state
* He was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1837, and received a common-
school education. He served four years as a captain and major in the late war,
and was brevetted colonel at its close. He resides at Highland Park, and does
business in Chicago as a dealer in machinery.
LOGAN AGAIN ELECTED U.-S. SENATOR. 857
affairs. He recommended an amendment to the revenue
system and the passage of a law reducing the maximum rate
of interest to eight per cent per annum.
The election of a United-States senator to succeed Governor
Oglesby was the prominent subject of discussion until the event
was disposed of. Gov. Oglesby was again a candidate as was
also Gen. Logan. Their respective friends were active and
earnest in their support, but the contest was conducted generally
in a friendly spirit. Gov. Oglesby's service in the senate had
not added to his fame, nor gained him any friends. He had
not been conspicuous for the introduction or advocacy of any
measure bearing upon any national issue during his term of six
years. It was insisted, indeed, that he had not exercised that
influence, nor risen to that prominence which a senator from
the great State of Illinois should command. Whether his nega-
tive position was not the wisest amid the multiplicity of meas-
ures introduced to "mend the times," and his silence golden, was
hardly considered ; and it became evident, early in the contest,
that the dashing, aggressive Logan would for the time being, at
least, retire the gallant ex -governor to private life. Such was
the result in the republican caucus; and although there was
considerable reluctance in some quarters to voting for him,
Logan received 80 votes to 26 for his opponent.
The nominee of the democrats was Gen. John Charles Black;
and the election, which was held January 21, resulted as follows;
in the senate, for Logan 26, Black 24, McAuliffe I ; in the house,
Logan 80, Black 60, Alexander Campbell 10, McAuliffe 3,
giving Logan eight majority on joint ballot.
The session, of the thirty-first general assembly, was not only
a long one, but was characterized by its keen debates, its per-
sonal wrangles, and at times, tempestuous proceedings. It con-
tained many talented, earnest, and trustworthy members; and
had also its element of schemers, bargainers, and obstruction-
ists. Of the 1400 bills introduced into both houses, only 207
became laws, 5 1 of which were appropriation bills. Over 50
bills were introduced on the subject of insurance, only one of
which, of general interest, became a law.
Among the most important of the laws enacted were the
following: for the protection of bank depositors, providing that
55
858 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
if any bank shall receive deposits while is is insolvent, it shall
be deemed guilty of embezzlement; a comprehensive law on
the subject of farm drainage; revising the interest law, substi-
tuting eight for ten per cent as the rate per annum; a new and
comprehensive law on the subject of the militia; creating a
bureau of labor statistics; to establish houses of correction;
regulating the manner of applying for pardons; regulating
appeals to the appellate court in criminal cases; revising the
law relating to roads and bridges; making important amend-
ments to the revenue law; abolishing the board of state-house
commissioners; for the regulation of pawnbrokers. A joint-
resolution was also adopted, submitting to the voters an amend-
ment to the constitution, providing for the extension of the
term of the county treasurer, sheriff, and coroner to four years,
and making the two former ineligible to reelection, which was
subsequently ratified by the people at the polls.
A question of considerable practical importance at this
session grew out of the proceedings of the house upon the
report of a committee, April 3, appointed to investigate charges
of corruption, against certain members for receiving bribes to
abandon alleged schemes of legislation, made by the Chicago
Tribune. A correspondent of that paper, with whom the
charges originated, having been summoned to appear before the
committee as a witness, refused to answer specific questions
and especially to give the names of members from whom he
had received the information which was the foundation of the
charges. The correspondent was then summoned to appear
before the bar of the house, when still refusing to testify, a
resolution was adopted, by a vote of 96 to 35, requiring the
door-keeper to commit the correspondent to the county -jail
of Sangamon County, "there to remain until he shall signify
his willingness to answer such questions as may be put to him
by direction of the house."
The correspondent, having been committed to jail, was brought
before Circuit-Judge Chas. S. Zane, by writ of habeas corpus, and
the legality of his detention fully discussed, the attorney-gen-
eral appearing for the house, and Gen. John M. Palmer for the
prisoner. After a lengthy hearing, the motion to discharge the
prisoner was overruled and he was remanded to the custody of
THE SCROGGS EPISODE. 59
the jailor. On April 16, the investigating committee having
reported that the charge of corruption had been based upon
mere rumor, and, that after examining many witnesses, it
believed that said rumors were not true; on motion of Lewis
H. Bisbee, the committee was discharged from further service
and the correspondent was ordered to be "released from further
punishment."
The effect of these proceedings has been to make sometimes
reckless correspondents more careful in their statements and to
rely more upon facts than upon unfounded rumors a course
which so far from lessening their importance, increases their
effectiveness and admitted power.
The legislature adjourned May 31.*
* One of those amusing episodes occurred at this session which have sometimes
broken in upon the regular proceedings of the house as unexpected as they were
found to be agreeable. George Scroggs, a popular representative from Champaign, .
who was also a bright member of the press, had received the appointment of consul
to the free German city of Hamburg. His many friends determined to celebrate
the event by presenting him, while the house was in session, with what was consid-
ered the appropriate gift of a pair of wooden shoes. Lucien B. Crooker, the witty
member from La Salle and one of the leaders of the republican side, was selected
to make the presentation speech. The entire performance was a surprise to Scroggs,
and his reply to the speech in broken German was not the least amusing part of the
proceeding.
Crooker, jolly and rotund, made the following impromptu speech :
" Mr. Speaker: I rise to a question of high and I might add holy privilege, and as
the occasion is a momentous one, I will beg the right of occupying the speaker's
platform, so I may shine from borrowed light, and, if possible, equal the occasion.
We are sometimes rent asunder by politics and divided upon questions of policy, but
when it comes to a question of admiration, we are united; and, as one of our mem-
bers is about to leave our shores and depart to foreign climes, we propose to give
him an appropriate send-off. Nations have always honored their dead but not
always their living. Hence
'Seven cities claimed illustrious Homer, dead,
Through which a living Homer begged his bread.'
It is left for American people to adequately honor her great men while living.
" We made Mr. Grant a major-general, and we made General Grant president. We
gave him houses, lands, horses, and bull -pups, [laughter]; and now the great State
of Illinois, through the thirty -first general assembly, and it through me, its most
humble and obese member, proposes to follow this illustrious example and appropri-
ately deck this member who is so soon to be taken from us and transplanted to foreign
shores as a representative of American greatness. Among the early and verdant
products of Illinois soil, none were more thriving or verdant than our hero, [laughter].
Some men are born to greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. In
this case, our favorite son inherited greatness from a long - indigent, but prolific line
86C ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The political events of 1880 are among the most memorable
in this State. The claim of the democrats that they had been
unjustly deprived of the fruits of their victory in 1876 brought
them some supporters outside of their organization and tended
to strengthen their party-lines. With the electoral votes of the
eleven reconstructed states now assured them, together with
of ancestors, and also inherited the melodious surname of Scroggs. When he arrived
at manhood, he also had greatness thrust upon him and was, so to speak, stabbed
or prodded with it, and, in commemoration of this metaphorical assassination, we
propose to pay tribute to his large understanding, [laughter]. His birth was ushered
in by peals of thunder and flashes of lightning, and, as he laid puling in his mother's
arms, frowns of ambition wrinkled his two eyebrows, and as he doffed his swadd ling-
cloths and put on his first pair of pants, and went forth, common urchins were made
to respect his greatness.
" His mud-pies were always the largest, and he insisted on having all the mud.
If any common youth interfered, he at once got a dab of mud over his right eye, and
all the satisfaction he got was to let it dry on and take it home to his mother,
[laughter]. Years passed by, limb and brain expanded, until the people wondered
much
'And still the wonder grew
That one small head should carry all he knew*
" Most men are obliged to address the people orally or to embalm their thoughts
in Arnold's writing-fluid, but Scroggs possessed dual elements of greatness. His
tongue was silver-tipped and his pen diamond-pointed. He could write like a poet
and talk like a statesman, or he could talk like a poet and write like a statesman,
and sometimes both, [more laughter]. He taught Illinois true provincial journalism.
He mounted the stump and dropped solid chunks of political wisdom. He made
Frew fume furiously. He made Harlow halloo horribly, and finally, in recognition
of his greatness, the people arose majestically and elected him a member of the
thirty-first general assembly, [more laughter]. Here ordinary ambition would have
been rewarded; but we were not to remain long in possession of this intellectual
bonanza. The mighty executive has reached out from Washington and metaphori-
cally held our Scroggs up before an admiring United -States senate, and they, with
one accord, shouted: "That's the fellow we are after! That's the chap to represent
us abroad ! That's the galoot to teach those degenerate Dutchmen true respect for
American greatness! [renewed guffaws,] and with one accord they confirmed him
consul to Hamburg, while the whole legislature of Illinois stood up and shouted
back, 'bully!' [tremendous laughter.] Now, friend Scroggs, as you are about to
leave our shores and be rocked in the cradle of the deep, we propose to make you
an appropriate and useful present as a testimony of our esteem, [here the speaker
held up a ponderous pair of wooden shoes, amidst shouts of laughter.] These are
not, as some inspired idiot would assume, gun-boats, [laughter.] They are not, as
some wayward lunatic would assert, coal-shoots, [laughter. ] They are plain wooden
shoes. Take them, Scroggs, and wear them, but not on ordinary occasions. Poor,
plain leather must do for every day, but, when kings put on their crowns, then put
on these fragile pedal appendages and stamp your feet till the earth shakes, and till
the crowns tumble from off effete kings, and until thrones are shattered to their very
CROCKER'S SPEECH AND SCROGGS' REPLY. 86 1
their ascendency in both houses of congress, their chances of
success had been wonderfully improved. While the republicans
could appeal to the successful accomplishment of their financial
measures with the fair expectation of gaining back those mem-
bers of the party who had gone over to greenbackism, it was
nevertheless incumbent upon them to nominate their strong-
foundations. If any unregenerated Dutchman dares to wink at the Stars and
Stripes, place one of these canoes in close proximity to his posterior and elevate him,
and when he comes to, a week or so after, if he opens his mouth make it painful for
him again, and teach them to respect American greatness, [irrepressible laughter];
and, when you shall have done your duty, as we know you will; when you can eat
limburger like a true Hamburger; when you shall be revivified, enlarged, and revised
by the use of foaming lager, return to us full-breasted and the people will receive
you with open arms. We, the citizens of Illinois, will meet you upon the hostile
borders of Indiana, [laughter]. We will escort you to your humble home. We will
sound the loud hew-gag. We will whack the dumb buzzy and beat the tom-tom.
And when life's fitful dream shall be o'er, when the last fleeting breath shall have
passed your pallid lips, and when you shall become a sorrel-topped angel, we will
mournfully and sorrowfully open the bosom of our loved prairies, and lay you away
to judgment. With suitable mechanical appliances, we will erect these wooden shoes
one at your head and one at yoar feet and write upon them an epitaph as com-
plete as the tongue of poets can utter, so that, when posterity goes hurrying by,
they will pause and say, 'There were giants in those days, '" [prolonged applause
and laughter.]
Scroggs was loudly called for, and made the following speech which was inter-
rupted by repeated applause and cheers:
" Meine Freunde und mein kleiner dicker Freund von LaSalle: Ich kann nicht
sagen shoo fly, aber ich kann sagen ich bin sehr gluecklick, und bin Ihnen sehr
verbunden fuer dieses schcene Geschenk, diese Holzschuhe, [laughter and applause.]
Es sind solche, wie ich vermuthe, die Engel tragen wenn sie die goldene Leiter
hinaufsteigen, [laughter]. Ich werde diese Schuhe am Sonntag tragen, wenn ich in
der Stadt Hamburg spazieren gehe. Sie werden mir niemals wehe thun, und desshalb
werde ich dem Gebrn stets dankbar sein, [applause]. Leben Sie wohl, meine Freude,
und ich wuensche Ihnen Erfolg fuer 1880, und stimme fuer U. S. Grant fuer Prassi-
dent, und meinen Kleinen Dicken Freund von Mendota, fuer Governeur von Illinois.
Adieu leben Sie wohl. "
[Translation : " My friends and my little fat friend from LaSalle : I can not say
shoo fly but I can say that I am very happy, and very much pleased with this present
these wooden shoes, [laughter and applause]. They are such, as I suspect, the
angels carried when they climbed the golden ladder, [laughter]. I will wear them on
Sundays when I promenade in the streets of Hamburg. I shall always feel thankful to
the donors for they will never hurt my feet, [applause]. May you live well, my
friends, and I wish you success for 1880, and vote for U. S. Grant for president and
my little fat friend from Mendota for governor of Illinois. Again may you long live,
farewell."]
Poor Scroggs, who was in bad health at the time, returned to his native land,
and died at home, October 15, 1880.
862 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
est man for president. Upon this subject, the party was about
equally divided between the supporters of General Grant and
those of James G. Blaine. The strife for ascendency between
warring factions in the various states was fierce and exciting,
especially in Illinois, where the great chieftain had his nominal
home, but where the statesman from Maine had a following as
strong as it was enthusiastic.
When the republican state -convention met at Springfield,
May 19, 1880, the political caldron was at white heat. General
Logan, ably seconded by Emory A. Storrs, was the champion
of "the silent soldier," while the opposing forces were led with
equal ability and tenacity by Gen. Hurlbut, Kirk Hawes, Sena-
tor George Hunt, Dr. J. W. Robbins, and others. Gen. Green
B. Raum, ex-congressman from the i/th district, and then com-
missioner of internal revenue, was the temporary as well as the
permanent president, and although it was understood that he
was a "third termer," he discharged the arduous duties of his
position with remarkable promptness, courtesy, and impartiality.
The fight began over the contesting delegates from the ist,
3d, and 4th senatorial districts of Cook County. The Grant
delegates were admitted by a vote of 341 to 261. The second
day was consumed in debating the question of the appointment
of delegates to the national convention. The invariable custom
had been in former conventions for the delegates from the sev-
eral congressional districts to assemble in separate conventions
and nominate members of the various committees, electors, and
delegates to national conventions from their respective districts.
It was now proposed that a committee to select delegates should
be appointed by the president. The debate which followed
lasted all day and nearly all night. Gen. Logan arose to address
the convention at 9 o'clock p. m. The hall of the house of
representatives was packed to its utmost capacity and the
galleries filled with ladies many of whom were interested spec-
tators. The night was warm ; the general stood upon a chair,
took off his coat, and began his speech. He continued amid
great excitement, interruptions, applause, and hisses. But he
kept his temper and gained the attention of his vast audience.
The debate was continued by Charles Thomas, Kirk Hawes,
and J. M. Beardsley, against the proposed change; and A. W.
REPUBLICAN STATE CONVENTION OF l88o. 863
X
Metcalf, Richard Rowett, and Isaac Clements in favor of. The
vote was not reached until 2 o'clock in the morning. It was in
favor of the Grant men by 389 to 304. The vote, instructing
for Gen. Grant, stood 399 to 285.*
The nominations for state-officers were not made until the
third day. The candidates for governor were, Shelby M. Cullom,
for a second term, General John I. Rinaker, General John B.
Hawley, Colonel Greenbury L* Fort, Colonel Thomas S. Ridg-
way, Colonel Clark E. Carr, and General John C. Smith; and,
with exception of the first - named, as was shown by the
first ballot, the preferences of the delegates were about equally
distributed among them. It was as follows: Cullom 219^,
Rinaker 108^, Hawley 96, Fort 87, Ridgway 76, Carr 55,
Smith 51. The second ballot showed a gain for Cullom of 15
votes, Rinaker 13, Hawley 2, Carr I, and small losses for the
others. It was far from indicating any decided change of opin-
ion and so far "it was any body's race." The third ballot still
left the result an open question the delegates were evidently
slow in coming to a conclusion; it was as follows: Cullom 241,
Rinaker 150, Hawley 104, Fort 82, Carr 55, Ridgway 45, Smith
24. It was one of those critical periods which sometimes occur
in the proceedings of deliberative bodies, when a trifling incident
might precipitate the result. The calling of the roll for the
fourth time began amid breathless excitement; as it proceeded
both Cullom and Rinaker showed gains, and it was evident that
* The delegates appointed were as follows: from the state at-large, J. A. Logan,
Emory A. Storrs, G. B. Raum, D. T. Littler. By the committee of the convention,
1st district, John Wentworth, Stephen A. Douglas; 2nd, A. M. Wright, Richard
S. Tuthill; 3d, John L. Beveridge, L. J. Kadish; 4th, N. C. Thompson, N. N.
Ravlin; 5th, J. B. Brown, Miles White; 6th, Henry T. Noble, W. H. Shepard;
7th, E. F. Bull, E. W. Willard; 8th, J. B. Wilson, R. J. Hanna; 9th, Joel Mer-
shon, William Jackson; loth, Hosea Davis, F. P. Burgett; nth, O. B. Hamilton,
M. D. Massie; I2th, George M. Brinkerhoff, C. M. i-ames; I3th, John McNulta,
V. Warren; I4th, James Heyworth, J. B. Harris; I5th, W. H. Barlow, A. P.
Greene; i6th, J. M. Truitt, Lewis Krughoff; iyth, A. W. Metcalf, Richard Rowett;
l8th, C. O. Patier, J. M. Davis; igth, C. W. Pavey, W. H. Williams.
The contesting delegates appointed by the districts, ignored by the convention,
were: ist, W. J. Campbell, Elbridge G. Keith; 3d, Elliott Anthony, Washington
Hessing; 4th, C. W. Marsh, Lot B. Smith; 5th, Robert E. Logan, W. H. Hoi-
combe; 6th, James K. Edsall, John P. Hand; 9th, John A. Gray, W. S. Gale;
loth, Henry Tubbs, John Fletcher; I3th, E. D. Blinn, F. B. Low; 1 7th, William
C. Kueffner, Emil Guelich.
864 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
the contest was narrowed down between those two. At its
close, before the result was announced, Pulaski County, which
had voted for Cullom, changed to Rinaker, but before that well-
planned arrangement was followed up by other similar coups as
was expected, changes of a still more important bearing were
announced against the general. Jo Davies withdrew Smith and
cast its vote for Cullom, followed by Stephenson. Before the
Rinaker men were able to make themselves heard, Cullom came
within forty votes of being nominated. But then Boone and
Lake went to Rinaker, and each side having exhausted their
strength with an undetermined result, there followed another
pause during which the fate of Rinaker was decided. Kanka-
kee and Grundy, followed by Marion and the fifth senatorial
district of Cook County, announced their vote for Cullom.
Adams changed to Rinaker, but it was too late, Cullom had by
this time received 376 votes and was nominated. Gen. Rinaker
made an unexpectedly gallant fight, having received forty votes
more than had been conceded to him; but, with an experience in
public life and with public men which his opponent lacked, with
a trained body of experienced workers behind him to marshal
his forces, and with the aid of the state patronage, the advan-
tages on the side of the governor, notwithstanding he was ask-
ing the unusual preferment of a second consecutive term, were
too great to be overcome.
John M. Hamilton of McLean County, was nominated for
lieutenant-governor on the first ballot.
The principal candidates for secretary of state were Geo. H.
Harlow for a third term, Senator Henry D. Dement, and Gen.
Jasper N. Reece. The contest was very close and animated,
the first ballot being, Reese 244, Dement 211, Harlow 148,
scattering 90; but Dement was nominated on the second ballot.
For auditor, Thomas B. Needles, the then incumbent, whose
administration of the office had been eminently satisfactory,
had no opponent up to the meeting of the convention and it
was not supposed that he could be beaten. But the name
of Charles B. Swigert, "a one-armed soldier" from Kankakee,
was presented, and although at one time Needles had undoubt-
edly received enough votes to nominate him, before it could
be announced changes continued to be made until the fina/
vote was announced as 377 for Swigert and 316 for Needles.
REPUBLICAN NOMINATIONS. 865
What, more than anything else, contributed to this result, was
the fact that "Long" John Wentworth, not too old to forget
how easily a great convention can be manipulated and impressed
by the production of startling effects, when the fatal changing
began against Needles, grasped Swigert, a small man, by the
waist and holding him up in his large arms, and dangling before
the delegates his empty sleeve, exclaimed "Boys! give the one-
armed soldier a chance!"
Edward Rutz, a former incumbent, after a close contest was
nominated for state treasurer over Major R. W. McClaughry.
There was also an exciting contest for attorney - general
between James McCartney of Wayne County, and Col. Asa C.
Matthews of Pike which resulted in the success of the former.
The democratic state-convention was held at Springfield,
June 10. S. S. Marshall presided. Judge Trumbull was nomi-
nated for governor by acclamation; Lewis B. Parsons for lieu-
tenant-governor; John H. Oberly for secretary of state; Louis
C. Starkel for auditor; Thomas Buttervvorth for treasurer; and
Lawrence Harmon for attorney-general.*
The platform adopted was: no tariff for protection; for
reform in the civil service; for a constitutional currency of gold
and silver, and of paper convertible into coin; no more "8 to 7
frauds;" protection of laborers in the prompt and certain col-
lection of their wages.
The nominations of the greenback -reform party were: for
governor, Alson J. Streeter; lieutenant-governor, A. M. Adair;
secretary of state, J. M. Thompson; auditor, W. T. Ingram;
treasurer, J. W. Evans; attorney-general, H. G. Whitlock.
The republican national convention met at Chicago, June 2,
1880. The scenes of heated contention which had charac-
terized the state convention were here repeated with fourfold
* The delegates to the national convention were: at large, Melville W. Fuller,
John A. McClernand, S. S. Marshall, and W. T. Dowdall. From the districts in
their order, two from each: John K. Hoxie. Henry F. Sheridan; Perry II. Smith,
F. L. Chase; A. M. Herrington. J. F. Glidden; J. W. Potter, J. M. Stowell; Chas.
Dunham, D. P.. Buford; William Reddick, Andrew Welsh; G. C. Herrington, D.
Huling; Lyle James, L. W. Ross; J. M. Stewart, A. Montgomery; W. E. Carlan,
Scott Wike; H. M. Vandeveer, H. II. Barnes; Benjamin Howard, Luther Dear-
born; W. A. Day, J. W. Craig; W. M. Garrard, S. S. Whitehead; Jacob Fouke,
W. S. Forman; George Boyle, Seymour Wilcox; W. H. Green, W. K. Murphy;
J. M. Crebs, G. B. Hobbins.
866 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
intensity before a national audience of 15,000 listeners. After
an exhaustive discussion of the points involved, lasting two
days, the convention decided in favor of admitting the contest-
ing delegates from Illinois by the close vote of 385 to 353. The
platform was adopted on Saturday, the fourth day of the con-
vention, and the candidates placed in nomination. The ballot-
ing began on Monday which continued with very little variation
in the result all that day until 10 o'clock, p. m., which closed
with the 28th ballot: Grant's vote was 306; Elaine's 284; the
balance scattering. On the 34th ballot, Gen. James A. Garfield
received 17 votes one delegate from Pennsylvania having con-
tinued to vote for him since the iQth. On the next ballot, he
received 50 votes and was nominated on the 36th, the Blaine
strength going to him, Gen. Grant's vote remaining 306. Gar-
field occupied his seat as delegate from Ohio during the ballot-
ing. Chester A. Arthur of New York, was nominated for
vice-president on the first ballot.
The national greenback party met at Chicago, June 9. James
B. Weaver of Iowa, was nominated for president, and E. J.
Chambers of Texas, for vice-president. Among other declara-
tions of principles adopted were the following: all money,
metallic or paper, should be issued and its volume controlled
by the government; the bonds should be paid as soon as
possible according to contract; to enable the government to
meet their obligations, legal -tender currency should be substi-
tuted for the notes of national banks, and the latter abolished,
and unlimited coinage of gold and silver; the duty of congress
to regulate inter-state commerce in all 14 planks.
The national democratic convention met at Cincinnati, June
22. The name of Samuel J. Tilden of New York, having been
withdrawn, the principal candidates for president were Gen.
Winfield Scott Hancock of Pennsylvania, and James A. Bay-
ard of Delaware Illinois voting for Col. William R. Morrison.
The former carried off the prize on the second ballot. Wm.
H. English of Indiana, was nominated for vice-president.
The platform covered the following points: opposition to
centralization and to sumptuary laws; favoring home-rule, hon-
est money consisting of gold and silver and paper convertible
into coin on demand; against the great fraud of 1877; for free
ELECTION RESULTS IN l88o. 867
ships and a living chance for American commerce; no discrimi-
nation in favor of transportation lines, corporations, or monopo-
lies.
The campaign of 1880 was full of life and "large endeavors."
It was the eloquent and able statesman and soldier Garfield
against a distinguished son of Pennsylvania and one of the
bravest and most successful generals of the regular army. The
pivotal point then, as it has been since, was New York which
was carried for the republicans by a plurality of over 20,000.
The result in Illinois was as follows: Garfield electors 317,-
879, Hancock 277,314, Weaver 26,191, scattering 493. For
governor, Cullom 314,565, Trumbull 277,532, Streeter 28,898,
scattering 1075; for secretary of state, Dement 317,421, Oberly
277,122, Thompson 26,687. The other state- officers received
about the same aggregate vote.
CHAPTER XLV.
Progress Gov. Cullom's Second Administration Thirty -
second General Assembly Laws Politics in 1882
Thirty -third General Assembly Election of Cullom
to the Senate.
IN 1880, Illinois had fairly assumed the position of an old
state, whose land had all been taken up, and whose popula-
tion no longer increased at the rapid rate incident to a new
commonwealth. The percentage of increase throughout the
entire country was 30.08 per cent; while in Illinois, it was only
2 1. 1 8, about the same as in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts,
though exceeding that of New York and Ohio. A greater pro-
portionate growth had, indeed, been shown by the returns from
several southern states, notably Texas, Arkansas, and even
South Carolina, which exhibited an increase somewhat in excess
of the average. Illinois, however, had contributed a by-no-
means insignificant quota of her hardy sons and daughters to
swell the growth of more recently -settled communities. She
had helped to raise the percentage of the increase of popula-
tion of Kansas to the phenomenal figure of 173.35, an d of
Nebraska to 267.82, and besides had aided in the wonderful
augmentation of that of the western territories. Illinois, never-
theless, maintained her position as the fourth State in the
Union, and gained an additional representative in congress.
But while she had fallen behind in the relative percentage of
increase of population, she had exhibited an amazing growth in
the development of her material resources in agricultural
improvement, in manufactures, in the accumulation of wealth;
and in her moral and educational facilities. Of her 35,840,000
acres of land, over 15,000,000 acres were by this time planted
in corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley, flax, and hay, and 500,000 in
other crops; 4,500,000 acres were in pastures, 5,500,000 in wood-
lands and uncultivated, and 300,000 in city and village lots.*
* Agricultural report, 1881, leaving in round numbers over 9,000,000 acres un-
accounted for.
868
ILLINOIS' PROGRESS, 1870 TO 1880.
869
The yield of the principal cereal crops of the State for the
years 1860, 1870, and 1880, as computed in the census returns,
which very nearly agrees with our State agricultural reports, is
shown in the following table:
1860
Corn, bushels, 115,174,777
Oats, ir 15,220,629
Wheat, M 23,837,023
Barley, 1,036,338
Rye, i, 951,281
Buckwheat,
324,117
1870
129,921,395
42,780,851
30,128,405
2,480,400
2,456,578
168,862
1880
325,792,481
63,189,200
51,110,502
1,229,523
3,121,785
178,859
As may be seen from an examination of these figures, while
there was an increase between 1860 and 1870 of 33 per cent,
the succeeding decade showed the remarkable expansion of 114
per cent. In the yield of the four principal cereals, corn, wheat,
rye, and oats, Illinois led all the other American states.*
The money value of the farm-and-orchard products of Illinois
as estimated by the department of agriculture at Washington
and of the State board of agriculture for this year, 1880
assumes the following magnificent proportions, exceeding five
times the gold-and-silver product of all the mines of the entire
country:*
Corn, $86,563,043
Wheat, 57,910,819
Rye, 2,226,398
Oats, 18,254,488
Barley, 77^,597
Buckwheat, $213,069
Potatoes, 6,156,562
Sorghum, 676,630
Hay, 22,589,691
Orchards, 8,176,480
Pastures, $14,491,114
Dairy prod't, 27,000,000
Poultry, eggs, 6,000,000
Live stock, 50,182,654
Total, $301,217,545
The Prairie State also outranked all her sisters in the number
of its horses, which was 1,078,000, a gain of 22 per cent; and
stood next to Missouri and Texas in the number of mules, 133,-
900, an increase of 44 per cent. It had 695,400 milch-cows, and
was the fourth state in the number of its oxen and cattle,
1,235,300, a decennial gain of 26 per cent.-f-
Immense, however, as was the growth of the agricultural
* "The West," by Robert P. Porter. Census Returns.
+ Her hogs numbered 3,202,600; the number of sheep had decreased. Robt. P.
Porter's "The West," 174.
8/0 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
interests of the State, it was exceeded by that of manufactures.
Let the subjoined table tell tersely the wonderful story:*
YEAR ^MENT'S"" CAPITAL EMPLOYES WAGES MATERIALS PRODUCT
1850 3,162 $6,217,765 11,599 $3,204,336 $8,559,327 $16,534,272
1860 4,268 27,548,663 22,968 7,637,921 35,558,782 57,580,886
1870 12,597 94,368,057 82,979 31,100,244 127,600,077 205,620,672
1880 13,347 "7,273.585 I354i9 53,693,46i 234,778,273 346,454,393
Illinois led all the other states in the manufacture of agricult-
ural implements, in flour-milling, in distilling, and in slaughter-
ing and packing meat; other great industries were the manu-
facture of iron, carriages and wagons, men's clothing, doors
and planed lumber, furniture, boots and shoes, malt, and print-
ing and publishing. In Chicago, where were situated the
greater number of her plants, over 1 10,000 hands were employed.
Her miles of railroads, which had been 4633 in 1870, had
been extended to 7955 exceeding the mileage of the six New
England States by 1958, and surpassing that of New York,
Ohio, and Pennsylvania by nearly as much but four counties
in the State Calhoun, Hardin, Massac, and Pope remaining
untouched by the iron -horse.
Corresponding with her growth, manufactures, and railroads,
had been the development of her mines of coal, which had
increased from 3,000,000 of tons in 1870, to 6,115,377 tons, a
greater output than that of any other state except Pennsyl-
vania.
The commerce of Illinois can be measured only by her
enormous resources. The transactions of the Chicago clearing-
house, for 1880, aggregated $1,725,684,898 much more than
double those of 1870. But while the grain, live-stock, and
other products handled in that great city assume such immense
proportions, the cities of Peoria, Quincy, Springfield, Bloom-
ington, and others show correspondingly rapid strides in both
manufactures and commerce.
The assessed value of property, real and personal, in Illinois
in 1880, was $786,616,394, being an increase over 1870 of over
70 per cent. This assessed value, however, represented only
about one-fourth of its actual worth.
* As compiled in the "Second Report of Illinois Labor Statistics," by Col. John
S. Lord, secretary.
THIRTY- SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 8/1
As stated by Gov. Cullom in his message to the legislature^
Jan. 7, 1 88 1, "On the first Monday of the present month, the
last dollar of the state debt was paid." There was yet and
still is, however, outstanding an apparent indebtedness, purely
nominal, of $1,165,407, which represents the amount of school-
moneys formerly used by the State for revenue purposes. The
faith of the State is pledged to forever pay six per cent on the
above sum for the maintainance of public schools. There were
also evidences of indebtedness, amounting to $23,600, which
had been due for several years, but as they had not been pre-
sented, the presumption was that they had been lost or de-
stroyed.*
The period of resumption had indeed brought with it a pe-
riod of great prosperity and growth, not only to the people of
this State but to those of the entire Union. Business was now
transacted upon the basis of a sound and uniform currency.
The supply of money on hand, instead of being reduced, as-
had been feared, had been enormously increased by the addition
of the bullion product of the country, and the enlargement of
the circulation of the national banks.
The thirty-second general assembly convened Jan. 5, 1881.
The new senators were: George E. Adams, William R. Archer
(reflected), Andrew J. Bell, August W. Berggren, Horace S.
Clark, Leander D. Condee, Frederick C. DeLang, to fill the-
unexpired term of W. T. Johnson, John C. Edwards, Joseph
W. Fifer, John Fletcher, Louis Ihorn, George Kirk, William A.
Lemma, Christopher Mamer, Thomas B. Needles late state
auditor, Henry H. Evans, Edward Laning, Isaac Rice, Conrad
Secrest, Charles A. Walker who had formerly served in the-
house, Thomas M. Shaw, David H. Sunderland, John R. Tan-
ner, George Torrance, William T. Vandeveer, and James b.
Wright.
Only thirty- one of the members elected to the house had'
formerly served in either branch of the legislature, namely:
William H. Allen, Charles Baldwin, Joseph N. Carter, John A
Collier, Loren C. Collins, jr., Edward L. Cronkrite, Bradford K.
Durfee, Alexander P. Dysart, John N. English, sr., James M.
Gregg, James Harrington, John G. Holden, Thomas F. Mit-
* Governor's message, 1883.
8/2 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
chell, Anthony R. Mock, Wm. S. Morris, William K. Murphy,
John L. Nichols, S. F. Otman, John M. Pearson, S. R. Powell,
Austin O. Sexton, J. W. Simonson, Dewitt W. Smith, George
G. Struckman, Horace H. Thomas, James T. Thornton, Joseph
Veile, B. F. Weber, J. G. Wright, Omar H. Wright, and Francis
M. Youngblood. The sharp, staccato voice of the veteran and
sturdy member James Herrington was again heard, but the
reader will look in vain for the names of Isaac L. Morrison,
A. C. Matthews, Lucien B. Crooker, B. H. Truesdell, and C.
F. Robison, "who made Rome howl" during the two previous
sessions.
Among the new members whose names most frequently
appear as having taken a leading part in the proceedings may
be mentioned the following: Henry O. Billings of Madison
County; Thomas E. Bundy of Douglas; George D. Chafee,
Shelby; Oliver P. Chisholm, Kane; John R. Cook and Orrin
S. Cook, Cook; Oliver Coultas, Morgan; Balfour Cowen, Macou-
pin; A. N. J. Crook, Sangamon; MiloErvvin, Williamson; James
M. Garland, Sangamon; Albert G. Goodspeed, Livingston;
Madison R. Harris, Cook; George W. Kroll, Cook; David T.
Linegar, Alexander; Lewis Ludington, DeWitt; Joseph B.
Mann, Vermilion; Robert Me Williams, Montgomery; George
B. Okeson, McLean; Jacob C. Olwin, Crawford; Patrick O'
Mara, Rock Island; John L. Parish, Cook; Daniel D. Parry,
Warren; Robert N. Pierson, Cook; John N. Perrin, St. Clair;
Herbert D. Peters, Piatt; Alexander P. Petrie, Mercer; Oman
Pierson, Greene; James Pollock, Lake; Wm. A. Richardson,
son of the ex-senator of that name, Adams; Jason Rogers,
Macon; J. Henry Shaw, Cass; E. B. Shumway, Will; Charles
T. Strattan, Jefferson; Edward B. Sumner, Winnebago; John
L Underwood, Pike; John H. Welsh, Bureau: Randall H.
White, Cook; Robert A. D. Wilbanks, Jefferson; Hannibal P.
Wood, Knox; Henry Wood, De Kalb; ^ischylus N. Yancy,
Macoupin.
The senate was organized by the election of William J.
Campbell of Cook, president pro tempore, over Major William
P Gallon of Morgan, by a vote of 33 to 18; James H. Pad-
dock being reflected secretary.
A number of names were canvassed for the speakership, but
GOV. CULLOM'S MESSAGE. 873
when the republican caucus met only one was presented, that
of Horace H. Thomas, who was nominated by acclamation and
subsequently elected, receiving 81 votes to 71 for Bradford K.
Durfee of Macon County, the nominee of the democrats. W.
B. Taylor was again chosen clerk.
The city of Chicago was, for the first time, honored with
the speakership of the house of representatives. General
Horace H. Thomas is a native of Vermont and was educated
at Middlebury College. After his admission to the bar in
1859, he took up his residence in Chicago. He entered the
army in 1861 as assistant -adjutant -general of the army of
the Ohio, and served in that capacity until the close of the
war. He then removed to Tennessee, where he was appointed
upon the staff of Gov. Brownlow as quartermaster-general. He
returned to Chicago in 1867, and was elected to the thirty-first
and thirty-second general assemblies. He is a good parliamen-
tarian, and made an enviable record in the speaker's chair. He
is at present a member of the state senate from the sixth
district.
The biennial executive message was read to both houses on
January 7. It was devoted to state affairs, and recommended
the passage of a law providing for the enlargement of the
Illinois-and-Michigan Canal, its extension to the Mississippi
River as a national waterway, and its cession to the general
government. Governor Cullom was inaugurated for the second
time and entered upon his second term of ervice on January
jo. His inaugural address touched upon the subject of the
benefits of a republican form of government in contrast with
the monarchical constitutions of the old world, and a consider-
able space was devoted to a discussion of questions relating to
education and labor. Upon the latter topic, he remarked: "To
the laboring class we look for the energy and perserverance
which conquers all difficulties, overcomes all obstacles, and
beautifies the path of life with the flowers of peace and pros-
perity; labor feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, subdues the
wilds and woods, builds our houses and cities, constructs our
highways, lifts upon a higher plane our civilization, and makes
the world richer, wiser, and better. Who shall decry labor or
fail to honor him who labors? The rail-splitter, the tailor, and
8/4 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
the tanner have by labor made their homes in the White House;
the tow-path of the canal leads today in the same direction.
Labor to be most successful must be intelligent. It was not
alone because these men who came from the humbler walks of
life, and who achieved renown, worked with their hands, that
honors came to them. These honors came because they fitted
themselves for great responsibilities by labor and by mental
training, which qualified them for any emergency. Labor
marks the path of the world's progress."
The thirty-second general assembly has been noted for the
small amount of legitimate legislative work transacted, for its
prolonged and unprofitable discussions of questions unimportant
in themselves and promising no practical solution or result,
and for the wholly uncalled-for length of time to which its first
session was prolonged. The example set by preceding legisla-
tures, regarding Saturday and Monday absenteeism, was faith-
fully followed and even thrown into the shade. There being
no call for any legislation on any particular subject, other than
those of reapportionment and the canal, the taxpayers generally
expected that the session would be a short one; but this very
absence of any need for special action seemed to open the door
for a greater number of vicious schemes of legislation than
usual. There was never a session of the legislature without a
proposed amendment to the school -law, the revenue- law, and
the township-organization law. These all claimed attention at
this time, besides the temperance question, the consolidation
of the supreme court, propositions to abolish the board of
railroad - and - warehouse commissioners, the anti - pooling bill,
and that to regulate the rate of charges of sleeping-car com-
panies. Fortunately, however, there was a sufficient number of
members opposed to the various "schemes" presented to pre-
vent their ultimate insertion in the statute-book, although there
were times when the result seemed doubtful.
An investigation into the actions and doings of the board of
railroad- and-warehouse commissioners, by a legislative com-
mittee, occupied the attention of the assembly for several
weeks, forming an exciting side-issue which affected also other
questions.
The investigation pertained principally to the management
STATE CONVENTIONS, 1 882. 875
of the grain-inspection department at Chicago, and was mainly
directed against Commissioner Bogue. The defence of the
commission by that gentleman was unexpectedly able, and on
most points conclusive. He showed a thorough acquaintance
with the questions involved, and made the way clear for a report
from a majority of the committee sustaining the administration
of his board. William H. Robinson, who had been appointed
commissioner as successor to John H. Oberly, whose term had
expired, was confirmed February 1 1 ; Smith and Bogue, reap-
pointed, were not confirmed until March 25.
The legislature continued in session until May 30, and as the
outcome of its lengthy deliberations, besides the appropriation
bills, passed the following laws; to regulate the traffic in deadly
weapons and prevent the sale of them to minors; to prevent
the adulteration of butter and cheese, and articles of food,
drink, or medicine; to regulate the practice of dentistry; in-
cluding February 22, and May 30 among the legal holidays; to
regulate the practice of pharmacy; for the regulation and
inspection of tenement houses; requiring officers to publish
annual statements of the public funds on hand.
Having failed to pass the apportionment bills and the nec-
essary legislation for the proposed cession of the Illinois-and-
Michigan Canal to the United States, the governor reconvened
the general assembly in special session, March 23, 1882, .for
these purposes. The apportionment laws were duly passed,* as
was also that relating to the cession of the canal, which was, as
by law required, submitted for approval to a vote of the people
at the November election, 1882, when it was duly ratified.
The governor had also recommended a revision of the crimi-
nal code, and made that one of the subjects to be acted upon
at the called session, but after a prolonged and heated contest
the proposition was defeated in the house.
The republican state-convention of 1882 was held at Spring-
field, June 28, Senator George Hunt presiding. Gen. John C.
Smith was nominated for treasurer the second time without
serious opposition. The contest over the nomination for state
superintendent of public instruction, however, between James
P. Slade, who then held the office, and Charles T. Strattan of
* See table on next page.
8;6
ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Jefferson County, was very close, the latter being successful on
the fourth ballot.
The state convention of the democrats was also held at
Springfield, September 7, ex-Gov. John M. Palmer occupying
the chair. Alfred Orendorf of Sangamon County was nomi-
nated for state treasurer, there being no other aspirant for the
honor. Efforts were made to unite on the greenback ticket for
state superintendent of public instruction but they proved un-
successful; and although there was considerable diversity of
opinion among the delegates, Henry Raab of St. Clair County,
received the nomination on the second ballot.
The platform contained the usual planks againt the extrava-
gance of the republican party, against the tariff, and sumptuary
ILLINOIS LEGISLATIVE APPORTIONMENT.
The following is the party -vote of each district in 1880, and the population of
each as shown by the census of that year :
GAR- HAN-
FIELD COCK
MAJORITY
REP. DEM.
GAR- HAN-
FIELD COCK
MAJORITY
REP. DEM.
i 5,863 4,117 1,746
53,278
2 6,471 4,268 2,203
56,251
3 7,065 4,788 2,277
57,644
4 5i97 4,337 i,570
55,370
5 3,434 5,433 1,999
64,561
6 7,504 5,206 2,298
72,711
7 6,767 2,549 4,218
58,593
8 8,438 3,644 4,794
57,740
9 4,73 3,064 1,666
55,46o
10 8,671 3,596 5,075
60,464
ii 3,309 6,088 2,779
73-275
12 8,971 6,394 2,577
75,489
13 3,888 4,608 720
6i,945
14 8,507 4,060 4,447
64,143
15 5,776 3,803 1,973
53,424
16 7,329 4,378 2,951
60,418
17 8,165 3,392 4,773
56,596
18 5,628 3,641 1,987
53,555
19 7,277 4,457 2,820
58,382
20 6,610 7,334 724
66,345
21 8,494 4,626 3,868
74,923
22 9,031 7,110 1,921
79,609
23 6,941 6,308 633
70,420
24 7,237 6,367 870
65,608
25 6,185 3,839 2,346
49,953
26 5,105 5,705 600
55,419
53,278
27
5,863
4.880
983
50,925
56,251
28
7,317
5,202
2,115
60,115
57,644
29
6,176
5,756
420
55,712
55,370
30
8,586
6,895
1,691
73,466
64,561
31
7,8i6
6,410
1,406
67,104
72,711
32
6,274
6,157
117
56,674
58,593
33
4,611
7,373
2,762
62,281
57,740
34
5,402
7, "4
1,712
60,015
55,46o
35
4,987
6,"3
1,126
59,148
60,464
36
4,481
6,413
i,932
54,276
73-275
37
4,248
6,555
2,307
49,305
75,489
38
7,103
7,793
690
69,224
6i,945
39
5,476
6,196
720
52,902
64,143
40
5,389
6,519
1,130
56,318
53,424
4i
5,024
4,677
347
50,141
60,418
42
5,569
5,427
142
54,708
56,596
43
5,896
6,900
1,004
63,645
53,555
44
6,423
6,i75
248
61,638
58,382
45
4,625
6,052
i,427
52,605
66,345
46
5,244
6,990
1,746
63,409
74,923
47
5,847
5,877
30
61,850
79,609
48
5,628
5,861
233
55,381
70,420
49
6,067
4,639
1,428
58,525
65,608
50
4,870
5,777
907
55,417
49,953
Si
5,834
5,070
764
58,041
55,419
Chicago Tribune,
May
5, 1882.
RESULT OF THE ELECTION, 1882. 8/7
legislation, and in favor of the election of the railroad- and -
warehouse commissioners.
The nominees of the greenbackers were as follows: for
treasurer Daniel McLaughlin, for superintendent of public in-
struction Frank H. Hall.
Still another state-ticket was in the field this year, that of
the prohibitionists, which contained the following names: John
G. Irwin for treasurer, and Elizabeth B. Brown for superintend-
ent of public instruction.
The strength of these various parties, as shown by the elec-
tion returns, was as follows: for state treasurer, Smith 250,722,
Orendorf 244,585, McLaughlin 15, 511, Irwin 11,130. For state
superintendent, Strattan 250,276, Raab 253,145, Hall 14,306,
Brown '11,202 Smith's plurality 6,137; Raab's 2,869; the
republicans being in a minority of 20,504. Strattan ran behind
his ticket for the reason that as a member of the last legisla-
ture, he had favored the proposition to submit to the people a
prohibitory liquor-law.
But while the republicans were in a minority in the State,
they again succeeded in electing a majority of the members of
the legislature, which was to be called upon to elect a United-
States senator to succeed David Davis.
The thirty-third general assembly convened January 2, 1883.
The new senators were: George E. White, John H. Clough, W.
H. Ruger, William J. Campbell (reelected), William E. Mason,
Thomas Cloonan, Millard B. Hereley, all of Cook County; E.
B. Shumway of Will; Lyman B. Ray, Grundy; William C.
Snyder, Fulton; Henry A. Ainsworth, Rock Island; J. W.
Duncan, LaSalle; Lorenzo D. Whiting, Bureau, reelected;
Henry Tubbs, Knox; Jason Rogers, Macon; George Hunt,
reelected, Edgar; Erastus N. Rinehart, reelected, Effingham;
Maurice Kelly, reelected, Adams; Frank M. Bridges, Greene;
Lloyd F. Hamilton, Sangamon; David B. Gillham, Madison;
Thomas E. Merritt, reelected, Marion; W. H. McNary, Clark;
Henry Seiter, St. Clair; William S. Morris, Pope; and Daniel
Hogan, Pulaski.
Those returned to the house, who had previously served in
that body or in the senate, were as follows : Austin O. Sexton,
L. C. Collins, jr., George G. Struckman, and David Sullivan, of
8/8 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Cook; Charles E. Fuller, Boone; E. M. Haines, Lake; E. B.
Sumner, Winnebago; E. L. Cronkrite, Stephenson; James
Herrington, Kane; Henry Wood, DeKalb; J. A. Collier, Ford;
A. G. Goodspeed, Livingston; Patrick O'Mara, Rock Island;
David Rankin, Henderson; James T. Thornton, Putnam; John
H. Welch, Bureau; Joseph Gallup, Marshall; Thomas F. Mit-
chell, Me Lean; F. M. Richardson, Cumberland; Isaac L.
Morrison, Morgan; A. N. Yancy, Macoupin; John B. Ricks,
Christian; John M. Pearson and Henry O. Billings, Madison;
John L. Nichols, Clinton; F. E. W. Brink, Washington; James
R. McFie, Randolph; James M. Gregg, Saline; David T. Line-
gar, Alexander; Milo Erwin, Williamson; and Michael C.
Quinn, Peoria.
Among the new members, whose names most frequently
appear as having taken a part in the proceedings, were: Wm.
H. Harper, Hilon A. Parker, J. F. Lawrence, James A. Taylor,
Edward D. Cooke, Clayton E. Crafts, Peter Sundelius, all of
Cook County; Luther L. Hiatt, DuPage; Andrew Welsh, Ken-
dall; William H. Emmerson, Fulton; A. S. Curtis and F. A.
Willoughby, Knox; Wright Adams, LaSalle; Isaac N. Pearson
McDonough; Lafayette Funk, McLean; William F. Calhoun,
DeWitt; William A. Day, Champaign; William J. Calhoun,
and E. R. E. Kimbrough, Vermilion; T. L. Matthews, and H. C.
Thompson, Cass; Thomas G. Black, Adams; Thomas Worth-
ington, jr., Pike; John H. Coats, Scott; Walter E. Carlin, Jer-
sey; E. M. Kinman Morgan; David T. Littler, B. F. Caldwell,
and G. W. Murray, Sangamon ; E. E. Cowperthwait, Christian ;
Seth "F. Crews, and G. F. Varnell, Jefferson; J. B. Messick, St.-
Clair; R. W. McCartney, Massac; William H. Boyer, Saline;
and William W. Hoskinson, Franklin.
William J. Campbell was again honored with the election of
president pro tempore of the senate, though not without a
struggle. The republican caucus, at which he was declared the
nominee, was held before all the senators were present, and six
refused to be bound by its decision. Sixty- one ballots were
taken in the senate before a result was reached in favor of
Campbell. The democrats conferred the honor of their suffrages
upon Thomas M. Shaw, while Isaac Rice received the votes of
the six dissenting republicans. Campbell had made an entirely
THt
OMHE
- . : "^'
'- '
THIRTY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 8/9
satisfactory presiding officer, eminently dignified and impartial,
and the objection to him was not personal, but was intended as
a protest against what was regarded as the premature and
hasty action of the caucus. L. F. Watson was elected secretary
of the senate.
The house was organized by the election of Loren C. Col-
lins, jr., of Cook, as speaker, over Austin O. Sexton, by a vote
of 78 to 75, and John A. Reeve of Alexander, clerk.
Judge Collins, one of the youngest men who had filled the
speaker's chair in this State, was born in Windsor, Conn., Aug.
I, 1848, and became a resident of Illinois with his father's family
in 1866. He was graduated with honor from the Northwestern
University at Evanston in 1872, and was shortly after admitted
to the bar and became a successful practitioner. At the time
of his elevation to the speaker's chair, he was serving his third
term as a member of the house, where he had proved himself
to be a ready debater, an excellent parliamentarian, and a
sagacious party-leader. He was appointed one of the circuit-
judges of Cook County in 1884, to fill a vacancy, and elected
to a full six years' term, as his own successor, in 1885.
The governor's message, presented January 4, embodied a
clear and concise statement of the state finances, and of the
satisfactory condition of the various public departments. The
revision of the criminal code was again strongly urged upon
the legislature and also an amendment to the state constitution
which would give the executive the power of vetoing individual
items or sections of appropriation bills.
The preliminary contest among the republican candidates for
the nomination of a United-States senator before the meeting of
the republican caucus was active and earnest. But for the fact
that Governor Cullom was only half through his gubernatorial
term of four years, there would have been but little opposition
to his selection. It was testing the fidelity of his friends to the
utmost to ask them to help elect him to this office when he had
two years to serve as governor; especially was this true in view
of the fact that his election would seat in the executive chair
one whom the party leaders would not originally have selected
to fill that post, and whose elevation, it was found, might, in
some instances, prove to be the occasion of their own downfall
880 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
through the nomination of others to fill the places then held by
them. The complications of the situation were increased and
the prospect of Cullom by no means improved by the introduc-
tion into the house, from the democratic side, of a resolution
declaring that under article five of section five of the state con-
stitution, neither of the state officers were eligible to the office
of a senator in congress. It was so timed as to come up for
discussion on the very day upon which the republican caucus
was called to meet. Contrary to what, at the time, was con-
sidered "good politics," a number of republicans voted in favor
of the resolution, instead of for its reference to a committee,
and thus secured its adoption.
The caucus met on the evening of Jan. 11, 1883. The candi-
dates besides Cullom were: ex-Gov. Oglesby, Gen. G. B. Raum,
and Gen. Thos. J. Henderson. As already stated, Oglesby had
not been generally considered a popular senator; Raum, while he
had served acceptably in congress and with marked distinction
as commissioner of internal revenue, had not gone through any
preliminary training in the state legislature and lacked that
official acquaintance with those who make senators, which is so
indispensable to success. No one, indeed, except Judge Breese,
had been sent to the senate, who had not passed through the
general assembly. General Henderson had served with dis-
tinguished ability in both houses of the legislature, but his last
term of service had been before the war. Since that time, he
had served eight years in congress making an excellent record.
The first ballot showed the following result: Cullom 44,
Oglesby 39, Raum 22, Henderson 9, scattering 3, necessary to
a choice 54. The second ballot showed a change of one vote
only, from Raum to Oglesby; on the third, Cullom gained
three; the fourth gave him 51 votes, Oglesby 31, Raum 15,
Henderson 9, Rinaker and Payson one each. That the tide
had turned in the direction of Cullom was proved by the next,
and last, ballot, he receiving 63 votes, Oglesby 23, Raum 13,
and Henderson 7, thus securing his nomination.
Ex-Gov. John M. Palmer was again the choice of the demo-
crats the honor, however, being an empty one, as there was
no possible chance for success. The election occurred Jan. 16.
In the senate, Cullom received 30 votes the full party strength
ELECTION OF CULLOM TO THE SENATE. 88 1
with the exception of George E. Adams, who refused to vote
and Palmer 20. In the house, each received 75 votes; two
republicans, Emmerson and Rankin, declining to vote, there not
being a majority in both houses, a joint-session was required
on the next day, when Cullom received 107 votes including
Emmerson and Rankin, but not Adams and Palmer 95.
The senator-elect resigned his office as governor, February 7.
His record of six year's continuous service, longer than any
other governor except French, had been one of the best. Pru-
dent, careful, and conservative in his general administration of
affairs, he had shown vigorous, prompt, and intelligent action
where circumstances demanded it. To the state institutions,
the economical and efficient management of which steadily
improved during his term, had been added the penitentiary at
Chester, and the eastern hospital for the insane, at Kankakee,
both of them splendid structures, furnished with all improved
appliances which modern science had discovered and approved
for the purposes for which they were erected. Several of the
state - bureaus were created upon his recommendation, while
those already in operation found their sphere of usefulness
enlarged and their dignity increased.
As a senator in congress, his ability and activity early won
for him both influence and prominence. His speeches attract
attention not through their brilliancy, but rather by their prac-
tical, business-like common-sense, and clear statement. His
natural industry is equaled by his effective work in committees
and by his close attention to the proceedings of the senate.
His name is closely connected with the inter- state commerce
law, and much of his reputation as a statesman will depend
upon the final success of national legislation in that direction.
CHAPTER XLVI.
Administration of Gov. John M. Hamilton Temperance
Legislation Laws Labor Problems Riots in St.
Clair and Madison Counties Conventions, Platforms,
and Elections of 1884.
JOHN MARSHALL HAMILTON, who succeeded to the
office of governor upon the resignation of Shelby M. Cullom,
was born in Union County, Ohio, May 28, 1847. His father,
Samuel Hamilton, removed to a farm in Marshall County,
Illinois, in 1854. Though but seventeen years of age in 1864,
he enlisted as a private in the I4ist Illinois Regiment of infan-
try, then being recruited for 100 days, and served until the regi-
ment was mustered out. He received a classical education at
the Ohio Wesleyan University, where he was graduated in 1868.
He engaged in teaching at Henry, Illinois, in 1869, and was
subsequently appointed a professor of languages in the Illinois
Wesleyan University at Bloomington. Having been admitted
to the bar in 1870, he entered upon the active and successful
practice of his profession. In 1876, he was elected to the state
senate from McLean County, and lieutenant-governor in 1880,
as already stated. In appearance, Gov. Hamilton is tall, with
clean-cut features, and light, sandy hair. As a public speaker,
he is effective rather than popular or eloquent. Some of his
forensic efforts before a jury, however, have received high
encomiums from his fellow -practitioners. He was the young-
est occupant of the executive chair in this State. William J.
Campbell, president pro tempore of the senate, became, ex-officio,
lieutenant-governor.
Although the thirty- third general assembly continued in
session, with the usual absenteeism of Saturday and Monday,
until June 18, the laws of any importance enacted were few
indeed in proportion to the length of time consumed in their
consideration. Among the acts passed, however, was that
commonly known as the Harper high- license law, which at-
tracted wide attention. No subject has, perhaps, giyen rise
882
TEMPERANCE LEGISLATION. 883
to such a great variety of tentative legislation as that relating
to the use and sale of intoxicating liquors.
The desire, indeed, to solve the grave problem of intemper-
ance has stimulated the most profound thought, and called forth
the most earnest effort alike of the philanthropist and states-
man; yet the practical result thus far attained would seem to
leave it doubtful whether the sociologist is much nearer reaching
a satisfactory solution than when the agitation first began.
The evil is still present; its baleful ramifications are as far-
reaching as ever; and if not positively increasing, it certainly
can not be said to be on the decline. As regards the remedy
if, indeed, there be one there is a strange lack of unanimity
of sentiment among either moralists or legislators. The dis-
cussion of the question, however, can scarcely fail to prove
beneficial, and may yet lead to radical and much-needed reforms
through a harmonizing of the divergent views of the champions
of prohibition, the supporters of local- option and high license,
and the advocates of unrestricted personal liberty.
The first law on the subject, passed by the first general assem-
bly, Feb. 27, 1819, provided for the licensing of "taverns, ale-
houses* or dram-shops, or public-houses of entertainment" by
county commissioners upon the payment of a sum of not ex-
ceeding twelve dollars a year, according to location. The appli-
cant was required to give a bond of $300, conditioned that he
was "to be of good behavior, and observe all the laws and
ordinances relating to inn-keepers." The commissioners were
authorized to fix rates or prices for entertainment, and the selling
of liquors;* to "suppress" the license of any person who should
suffer any disorder or drunkenness or unlawful game in his
house; he was not to harbor or trust any minors or slaves, and
was required to furnish good entertainment for man and horse
under the penalty of five dollars to be recovered before any
justice of the peace.
This law, with some minor changes, remained on the statute-
book for twenty years. From 1838 to 1840, the subject of temper-
ance awakened unusual attention in the State, and at the session
* These charges in 1819 were fixed as follows: Breakfast, 25 cents; dinner, 37^
cents; supper, 25 cents; lodging, i2 l / 2 cents; French brandy, 50 cents per half-pint;
whiskey, 12% cents; taffia or rum, 37^ cents; peach brandy, 25 cents.
884 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
of the eleventh general assembly, a petition was presented from
fourteen counties praying for the repeal of all laws permitting
the retailing of ardent spirits; this was referred to the com-
mittee on the judiciary, of which Colonel John J. Hardin was
chairman. He made a lengthy and able report on the subject
from which, to show the condition of public sentiment at that
time, the following extracts are given:
"To the legislator, the subject of intemperance is replete with
interest. The moralist regards it as it affects the conduct and
social happiness of individuals; the divine, as it influences its
victims to disregard the thought of eternity; but it is for the
legislator to consider it in its tendency to 'ead to a breach of
the good order of society, to the violation of law, to crime, to
insanity, and to pauperism.
"There are some forms of intemperance in which its victims
may indulge, which it does not appear to your committee that
it is in the power of legislative enactment to prevent. If a man
will purchase his barrel of whisky, and at home, or in solitude,
will drink to drunkenness and thus render himself more grovel-
ling than a beast it has not been considered in the United
States that this was a case which would authorize the interven-
tion of law here the man was abusing himself, not injuring
the peace of society. His appropriate adviser is the moralist
and the divine.
"When we reflect, however, that the laws of our State, as
they now stand, and are interpreted by those whose province it
is to carry them into effect, not only permit, but rather to invite
the retail of intoxicating liquors, it is surely time for the legis-
lature of our State to consider whether there should not be a
remedy applied to eradicate th ; s evil.
"At this day, when the public mind has become so well aware
of the paternal connection which exists between intemperance
and crime, we wiii not stop to argue that question anew. Con-
stituted, however, as the great majority of your committee is,
of practising lawyers from various quarters of our State, we
feel bound to add our testimony to the mass of evidence already
given on the subject. In the large majority of the violations
of criminal law, which have come under our observation in the
courts of this State, the original cause of the commission of
the crime was the use of intoxicating liquors; and in that large
class of cases of violation of personal rights of individuals, as
affrays, assault and battery, riots, assaults with deadly weapons,
manslaughter and murder, we are Cully convinced, from our
observation, that from three-fourths to nine-tenths have their
origin in the same unfortunate source.
COL. HARDIN'S REPORT, 1840. 885
"Some of your committee have paid attention to this subject;
and they are fully convinced, from the result of their inquiries,
that not less than three-fourths of the paupers in Illinois have
become so from the use of intoxicating liquors obtained at
groceries. * * *
"The reports of lunatic asylums exhibit the fact that a large
majority of the cases of lunacy and insanity, are produced by
this same fruitful source of misery. * * * In all countries,
and especially in our own, insane persons are considered as
deserving the especial protection and support of the goverment
How very important it is, then, to prevent the spread of this
dreadful malady, and thus relieve an incalculable amount of
wretchedness and misery.
"The amount of injury which is thus shown to be produced
on the inhabitants of this State, by the combined causes of
crime, pauperism, and insanity, which not only effect the moral
and social happiness of individuals, but also furnish a severe
drain on the revenues of the State, afford conclusive proof that
there is an evil in our system of permitting the retailing of
spirituous liquors, which requires prompt and efficient legisla-
tion. * * *
"They further recommend that entire discretion be granted
to the officers authorized to issue licenses, to grant or refuse
them at pleasure. By giving this discretion, the people of a
county or town may elect officers to carry out their wishes,
either by wholly refusing to grant licenses or otherwise, as to
them may seem proper. They would also suggest that whilst
it is right that the power of granting licenses for counties be
continued in the county commissioner's court, yet it does seem
to them to be more proper to give the power of granting
licenses in incorporated towns to the president and board of
trustees of such towns. * * *
"Every man has the natural right to carry arms to sell
poisons to loan his money as he please to erect a mill and
charge any price for the use of it to carry travelers across
rivers and charge any price for the same he can get; yet we
find in nearly all countries there are laws preventing the carry-
ing of concealed weapons preventing the sale of arsenic and
other poisons regulating the interest of money, the tolls of
millers, and the rates of ferriage; and we hear but little com-
plaint, in these cases, of depriving mari of his natural rights.
The present is precisely a case of similar character; it is for
the legislature to determine whether the good of the many
requires the surrender of the natural rights of the few who may
wish to exercise this right of retailing a slow but certain poison.
And it is not only the right of the legislature, but it is the duty,
886 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
whenever it becomes satified that the opinions and feelings of
the people of the State will sanction and demand it, to utterly
abolish this practice from the land.
"It will be seen that your committee have not gone, in their
recommendation, to the extent prayed for by the petitioners;
so as to repeal all laws authorizing the sale of intoxicating
drinks. The reason of this is, that they have not sufficient
evidence to induce them to believe that such is the desire of a
majority of the citizens of the State; and whilst it is their dis-
position to go as far as public opinion will certainly warrant,
they can not doubt but that it is better to fall somewhat short
of the wishes of the ardent friends of temperance, than, by
going too far, risk the reaction of public sentiment and the
consequent repeal of whatever law might be adopted.
"In all moral and political movement, nothing is more to be
dreaded than a reaction. It is better that the moralist and
politician should rather be behind public opinion in the binding
measures he may propose, than, by an eager zeal, rush forward
and hazard the whole object in view, when there was no occa-
sion for the risk. The practice of permitting the retail of
ardent spirits has been handed down for years, and the custom
of seeing it retailed is so habitual with many excellent citizens,
who are not in the habit of using it to excess, that the proposi-
tion to abolish all license laws, connected with the unkind
manner in which it is sometimes urged, seems to them an
innovation proposed by a rash and improper spirit. It must be
recollected, however, that the great increase of groceries is a
practice of modern times; and in consequence of the abuses of
these licensed groceries, the great spirit of temperance reform
has sprung into existence. Already are its beneficial effects
seen pervading the length and breadth of the land, bearing with
it peace and prosperity wherever it prevails; and whilst it uses
arguments based on facts and depends on the influences of
moral suasion, there is no friend of this country, and no philan-
thropist, but what must wish it success."
As the outgrowth of the above report, a new license-law was
passed at this session with the following provisions: county
commissioners were authorized to grant licenses upon the pay-
ment of not less than $25 nor more than $300 per year; the
court being authorized to reject any application for cause, and
to revoke any license whenever it was satisfied the privilege
was abused. Groceries were defined to be places where spirit-
uous or vinous liquors were retailed in less quantities than one
quart. In incorporated towns, the exclusive privilege of grant-
ing licenses was given to the trustees.
KILLPATRICK'S REPORT, 1847. 887
The peculiar feature of the law, establishing at this early
date the principle of "local option," was brought out in section
eight, which provided that "If a majority of the legal votftrs
in any county, justice's district, incorporated town, or ward in
any city, shall petition the county commissioner's court or other
authority, authorized to grant licenses, desiring that spirituous
liquors shall not be retailed within the bounds of said county
district, town or city, then and in that case it shall not be law-
ful to grant any grocery license in said county, town or ward,
until a majority of the legal voters of said county, district,
town, or ward, shall in like manner petition for the granting of
said licenses."
The above-cited section eight was repealed in 1841, and the
law otherwise amended by enlarging the definition of the word
"grocery," and providing for the indictment of all violators of
the law and for the imposition of a fine of ten dollars upon
such conviction.
No further changes in the law were made for several years,
although the question was frequently under discussion. In
1847, the friends of no license succeeded in procuring a favor-
able report from a select senate committee, of which Senator
Thomas M. Killpatrick was chairman. The following extract
from his report shows that the committee entertained some
advanced views on the subject:
"Ihe object in granting license in the first place, no doubt,
was, to secure a revenue from the sale of liquors, upon the same
principle that men paid for the privilege of selling dry-goods,
or engaging in any other branch of trade. But when the evils
accruing from the use of intoxicating drinks became manifest
and alarming, the price to be paid for the privilege of selling
was increased, not to operate as a tax, but as a check on the
widespread evil growing out of the sale and use. With this
object in view, our present license was enacted; and many of
the most devoted friends of temperance are of opinion that if
the consideration paid for license was increased, it would have
a tendency to diminish the sale and use of the article. Experi-
ence has taught us that although but few, comparatively, have
obtained license to sell liquor in less quantity than a quart, yet
the places where liquor is sold have been multiplied rather than
diminished. * * *
"The committee would take another view of this question,
and ask, are there any evils growing out of the sale and use of
888 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
intoxicating liquors? If so, is it right to grant by law license
and special or exclusive privileges to any individual to engage
ir^a business the tendency of which is evil and only evil. To
answer this question, it is not necessary in this enlightened day,
to dwell on the effects of intoxicating liquor on the intel-
lectual, moral, or physical man. This subject is so manifest
that all are convinced of the deadly, withering effect it has on
the whole man. To remove this evil and restore human nature
to the elevated position assigned it by its Maker has enlisted
the prayer of the Christian and the individual effort of the
philanthropist.
"As statesmen, your committee would consider it as a state
or national evil. And first, as to revenue, the use of intoxicat-
ing liquors has a tendency to diminish the amount of revenue
and to increase the demand for it. The unfortunate drunkard
is usually poor and pays no taxes; not that there is any natural
impediment in the way of his accumulating or holding property,
but that his habits of intemperance are such that what he
accumulates is squandered to gratify an unnatural and ruinous
appetite. His time and property thus wasted, he accumulates
nothing as the basis of taxation hence the reason why so
many of our fellow-citizens pay nothing to defray the ordinary
expenses of our state government.
"That the use of intoxicating liquors increases the demand
for revenue, the statistics of our poor-houses, alms-houses,
insane- and mad-houses, and our jails and penitentiaries, but
too clearly prove a careful and impartial investigation has
demonstrated that a large majority of the inmates of these
retreats for the wretched and the criminal have been brought
there by the use of intoxicating liquor.
"The testimony of our oldest and most experienced jurists,
together with every day's experience and observation, demon-
strates that more than two-thirds of all the crime committed in
the country has its origin in the same prolific source, and indeed
it is not to be wondered at, when the use of the article has a
tendency to stupefy and benumb the senses, to arouse all the
angry passions of our nature, and turn the man into a demon.
The expenses of our jails and poor-houses, as well as criminal
prosecutions, have to be paid by the people; the property, as
well as the benevolence and charity of the sober community,
has to be taxed to support and maintain drunkenness among
us. * * *
"Such being the effects of the use of intoxicating liquors,
whether taken in large or small quantities, the committee are
of opinion that, to legalize the sale of ardent spirits, to grant
license to any one to sell liquor, is, in effect, to license crime;
TEMPERANCE LEGISLATION. 889
or, in other words, it is granting a permit, sanctioned and sus-
tained by law, to deal out indiscriminately an article that pro-
duces all the evils above enumerated. The committee are ifbt
of opinion that the license law operates as a check to the
evils complained of. If the law was repealed there would be
more persons selling by the small quantity but not so many by
the large; there would perhaps be more money made by the
traffic but not so much liquor sold or so many drunkards made.
* Your committee can not but concede to the people,
in their associated capacity, the right to manage this matter, to
rid themselves, if they wish it, of a traffic that has and is pro-
ducing so much evil without any accompanying good. The
people are the source of all power laws should be enacted for
their special benefit; but in a population like ours, a general
law, obligatory alike on all, would not be safe. Some communi-
ties may wish to continue the traffic while others may not. A
law to prohibit the sale of the article would be in advance of
public sentiment in many places; consequently would be disre-
garded and rendered useless, and worse than no law. So a law
allowing liquor to be sold where the popular voice has decided
against it would be oppressive and wrong; hence the necessity
of leaving it to the voice of the people in those small localities.
If they decide in favor of selling it, let it be sold; if they
decide against it, let the law sustain them in that decision.
Nor can it be argued that the rights of any individual are
invaded by this arrangement. In a government of laws, many
of our natural rights have to be mutually surrendered for the
public good. This principle is recognized throughout our
statutes; hence ferries are regulated to prevent extortion; the
sale of poison and tainted meats is prohibited to guard life and
health; murder, robbery, theft, and counterfeiting, together
with the whole catalogue of crime, are prohibited and the
offenders punished to secure the public good. So let it be with
the sale of intoxicating liquors, the great source of these evils,
when the public sentiment has decided against it. To say that
the people are not qualified to consider this matter is to doubt
their ability for self-government and to distrust the essential
principle upon which our government is founded. In the great
state of New York, where the experiment has been tried, it
works well and promises ultimate success. The committee,
however, in accordance with the prayer of several petitions
referred to them, report a bill."
What would have been the opinions of these distinguished
legislators in the light of the fifty years of experience on this
subject, which have followed these reports, with the failures to
execute prohibitory laws in localities opposed to them, and the
57
890 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
demoralization of the public mind living in the daily violation
of a statutory provision, can be only conjectured.
No immediate result followed this report but it bore fruit at
the session of 1851, when an act was passed "to prohibit the
retailing of intoxicating drinks" in a less quantity than one
quart. The fine for violating the law was fixed at not less than
thirty, nor more than one hundred dollars. The war between
the temperance men and the liquor dealers, with its never-
ceasing litigation, was violently waged for the next two years,
when the prohibitory law was repealed and the old -license
system restored.*
In 1855, such had been the progress made by the opponents
of the sale of intoxicating liquors, that they succeeded in pass-
ing the celebrated bill entitled "an act for the suppression of
intemperance," which in its main features was the prohibitory
law of the state of Maine. This law was submitted to the
people at an election held on the first Monday in June, 1855,
and rejected by a large majority.
The license law thenceforth remained without material change
until 1872, when "an act to provide against the evils resulting
from the sale of intoxicating liquors in the State of Illinois"
was enacted, requiring that the licensee should give a bond in
the penal sum of $3000, with two good sureties, conditioned
that he would "pay all damages to any person or persons which
may be inflicted upon them, either in person or property, or
means of support, by reason of the person so obtaining a
license." Section five provided that the husband, wife, child,
parent or guardian, who should be injured in person or property,
or means of support, by any intoxicated person, or in con-
sequence of the intoxication, habitual or otherwise, of any
person, should have a right of action in his or her own name,
severally or jointly, against any person or persons who should,
by selling or giving intoxicating liquors, have caused the intoxi-
cation, in whole or in part, of such person or persons; and any
person or persons owning, renting, leasing, or permitting the
occupation of any building or premises, and having knowledge
that intoxicating liquors were to be sold therein, or who having
leased the same for other purposes, should knowingly permit
* Laws of 1853, page 91.
TEMPERANCE LEGISLATION. 891
therein the sale of* any intoxicating liquors that caused, in
whole or in part, the intoxication of any person, should be
liable, severally or jointly, with the person or persons selling or
giving intoxicating liquors aforesaid, for all damages sustained
and for exemplary damages. Other stringent provisions relat-
ing to indictments and penalties were also contained in this law.
All the acts on the subject were revised under the title of
"dram-shops," in "an act to provide for the licensing of and
against the evils arising from the sale of intoxicating liquors,"
in 1874. The provisions of the act of 1872 were reenacted, the
sum to be paid for licenses advanced to not less than $50 nor
more than $300, and the number of dram-shops in any county
limited to so many as the "public good may require, the license
therefor to be issued upon the filing of a petition signed by a
majority of the legal voters in the town or precinct where the
same is proposed to be located" thus reviving the principle of
local option.
At the session of 1879, a petition, containing 175,000 names,
80,000 of whom, it was stated, were voters, was presented
praying for the requisite legislation so that the question of
licensing the sale of intoxicating liquors in any locality in this
State should be submitted to, and determined by, the ballot of
the electors thereof, in which women of lawful age should be
allowed to vote. Miss Frances E. Willard, president of the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Mrs. Foster of Iowa,
and Mrs. St. John of Eureka, Illinois, on motion were invited
to and addressed both houses in favor of the prayer of the
petition; the senate taking a recess for tha purpose, the
house hearing the addresses while in session.
A bill was introduced by Representative Hinds in accordance
with the request of the petitioners which failed to pass, receiv-
ing 53 to 55 votes against it. A bill, containing similar pro-
visions, failed of passage also at the session of 1881.
Petitions, praying for a constitutional amendment, prohibit-
ing the manufacture and sale of intoxicants in the State have
been presented to the legislature at nearly every session since
1875. Greater progress was reached in the nature of legislative
action at the session of 1883, than any other, at which time,
a resolution, introduced by Representative Manahan, providing
892 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
for the amendment was reported back from the judiciary com-
mittee without recommendation. A motion made to suspend
the rules to consider the same was voted down by yeas 55,
nays 61. Subsequently, the consideration of the question was
postponed "until July 4th next" by a vote of 47 to 46, which
disposed of it for that session.
No further changes were made in the law until the session of
1883, when the bill entitled "an act to restrict the powers of
counties, cities, towns, and villages in licensing dram-shops,"
was introduced by William H. Harper, February 7. The
change proposed by this measure, as outlined in the first sec-
tion, is to prohibit the granting of licenses for the keeping of
dram-shops except upon the payment of not less than at the
rate of $500 per annum; and where malt liquors alone are sold
$150 per annum. The bill was generally supported by the
republicans and ably advocated, in the house where the fight
was made, by Messrs. Harper, Morrison, W. F. Calhoun, W. J.
Calhoun, Fuller, Littler, Parker, Adams, Me Cartney, Worth-
ington, and others; while it was generally opposed by the
democrats, the following members of that party gave it their
cordial and influential support: Messrs. Willoughby, Gregg,
Kimbrough, Day, Felker, Welch, Greathouse, Moore, and Grear.
It was not finally passed until June 15. The same principle of
high license has since been adopted in Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Missouri, Wisconsin, Texas,
Ohio, Minnesota, and some other states.
That the effect of the law has been greatly to reduce the
number of saloons, in all the larger cities, and at the same time
largely to augment the municipal revenues, there can be no
question the increased receipts from this source in Chicago
being over a million of dollars. Objectional "dives" and places
of low resort have undoubtedly been driven out of existence,
and it has been more difficult for their vicious patrons to gratify
their deprived appetites than before. The character of the
saloon has also doubtless been improved; but that any great
number who drank before have ceased to indulge in consequence
of the operations of this law is at least questionable.
An incident of more than ordinary interest, connected as it
was with the passage of the Harper high -license law, was the
nit
Of Iht
VfcRSI/ 0? II
LAWS LABOR TROUBLES. 893
contested-election case of James B. Bradwell, republican, versus
Thos. J. McNally, democrat, who had received the certificate as a
member from the third senatorial district which is made up of
the first, second, and third wards of Chicago. Judge Bradwell
was well known to be in favor of the high-license law, while Me
Nally was opposed to it. On April 19, the committee on
elections brought in two reports, the majority being in favor of
Bradwell and the minority supporting the sitting member. It
required every republican vote to adopt the majority report.
This the opponents of high- license determined, if possible, to
prevent. By the most corrupt influences, including the use of
money, Jesse J. Rook, elected as a republican from a Chicago
district, permitted himself to be debauched for this purpose.
He was generally kept out of the way, or if present, as he was
persuaded to be on one or two occasions, although he was aware
that his bribery had been exposed, he stubbornly refused to
cast his vote in favor of the republican member. As a result,
Judge Bradwell lost his seat, but the end, which it was supposed
would be prevented by retaining, >-the .contestee, was accom-
plished nevertheless.* t ^- vi
A few other laws of general interest were enacted at this ses-
sion, among them a revision of the statutes relating to "roads,
highways, and bridges;" the first compulsory- education law;
and "an act to provide for and aid training-schools for boys."
A joint-resolution was adopted submitting an amendment to
the constitution providing for the exercise by the executive of
a partial veto in case of appropriation bills which was ratified
by the people at the election of Nov. 4, 1884, by an overwhelm-
ing majority.
In May, 1883, there was another outbreak among the miners
at and near Collinsville, Madison County. The working miners,
it was alleged by the owners of the mines, were being abused
and maltreated by the strikers, and there was danger of a
serious disturbance which would be disastrous to life and
property. Upon the request of the sheriff of the county,
* Rook, on his return home, was shunned by his former friends and late confreres
alike. He soon after left Chicago and became a wanderer for a time without friends
or any regular avocation. He finally became a resident of Lincoln, Nebraska, where
in July, 1890, he fell from a third-story window and received injuries from which
he died in a few hours.
894 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
based upon the statement that he was unable to control the
rioters through the civil authorities, the Fifth Regiment of the
Illinois National Guards, commanded by Col. J. H. Barkley,
was despatched to the threatened locality, May 25. Brig.-Gen.
Reece, commanding the second brigade, arrived on the ground
the following day. Upon the arrival of the militia the rioters
at Collinsville dispersed and congregated at Marissa in St.Clair
County. At the Reinecke mine about 300 men and 50 women
had gathered, took possession, and defied the civil authorities.
Col. Barkley proceeded thither with his entire command. His
troops were fired on by the rioters as they were leaving the
cars, and the fire was returned, several volleys were exchanged,
and one of the mob killed. Twenty- six rioters were arrested
and the remainder dispersed. This ended the outbreak and
peace being restored, the troops were ordered home.
Preparations for the political conflict of the presidential year
of 1884 began in February, when the republican state-central
committee, as had been the custom in many previous campaigns,
was called together for conference at the Grand Pacific Hotel
in Chicago. As is usual on such occasions, the leading men of
the party throughout the State were invited to attend and
participate in the proceedings by reporting the condition of the
party in their several congressional districts. Candidates for
the various offices to be filled were also invited, and given an
opportunity to present their best side to these "heads of messes"
and to feel the public pulse.
The state convention was called to meet at Peoria on April
16 an earlier date than ever before and Col. Jas. A. Connolly,
United -States district -attorney for the southern district, was
selected to preside. Gov. Hamilton had been a candidate for
the nomination for governor, under the mistaken idea that
because the office fell to him as lieutenant-governor in conse-
quence of the promotion of the governor to the senatorship and
he had discharged its duties "faithfully and conscientiously,"*
* Extract from his public letter to the republicans of the State on withdrawing
from the contest "I have endeavored to discharge the grave duty of the office
faithfully and conscientiously ever since. Under these circumstances, I thought in
justice I ought to have one full term in the office unless the people were able to find
some grave fault with my administration." Davidson and Stuve's "History of Illi-
nois," 1004.
CONVENTIONS, 1884. 895
unless the people could find "some grave fault" with his admin-
istration, he was entitled to an election to a full term. An
office is a public trust freely bestowed by the people, and can
not be claimed as a right by an incumbent who has been so
fortunate as to fill it with general approval, let alone by one
who can only lay claim to the negative qualification of not
having committed grave faults. Perceiving that public senti-
ment unmistakably tended in favor of another, he wisely with-
drew from the contest. The favorite was ex-Gov. Oglesby,
the veteran of 1864, who, although "his hair was silvered o'er
and there was that in him which smacked of the age arid salt-
ness of time," possessed a spirit yet young and a Vigor of
intellect yet unimpaired. His nomination was made by accla-
mation. General John C. Smith was the choice for lieutenant-
governor, receiving 511 votes to 236 for Gen. John I. Rinaker,
and 43 scattering. Henry D. Dement was renominated for
secretary of state with but slight opposition. The candidates
for treasurer were Jacob Gross of Cook, Frederick Becker of
St. Clair, D. T. Littler of Sangamon, and Frederick Remann of
Fayette. The contest was a close one, after the withdrawal
of the others, between the two first named, resulting in the
success of Gross by a vote of 425 to 338 for Becker. There
was also an animated struggle over the nomination of attorney-
general between James McCartney, the then incumbent, and
Senator George Hunt, the latter carrying off the prize by the
close vote of 421 to 352. Charles P. Swigert was renominated
for auditor of public accounts by acclamation.
The enthusiastic choice of the convention for president was
expressed in favor of Illinois' distinguished son, Gen. John A.
Logan, and a nearly unanimous delegation in his favor was sent
to the national convention.*
* At large: Shelby M. Cullom, John M. Hamilton, Burton C. Cook, Clark E.
Carr; 1st district, J. L. Woodward, Abner Taylor; 2d, W. H. Ruger, C. E. Piper;
3d, George R. Davis, J. R. Wheeler; 4th, Samuel B. Raymond, L. C. Collins, jr. ;
5th, L. M. Kelley, Charles E. Fuller; 6th, Norman Lewis, O. C. Town; yth, I. G.
Baldwin, H. T. Noble; 8th, R. W. Willett, A. J. Bell; gth, S. T. Rogers, Thomas
Vennum; loth, W. W. Wright, R. H. Whiting; nth, C. V. Chandler, C. A.
Ballard; I2th, A. C. Matthews, William W. Berry; I3th, Dr. Wm.-Jayne, D. C.
Smith; 14th, Jos. W. Fifer, George K. Ingham; I5th, Charles G. Eckhart, L. S.
Wilson; i6th, Charles Churchill, Harrison Black; I7th, John I. Rinaker, J. M.
Truett; i8th, R. A. Halbert, H. Renter; ipth, Thomas S. Ridgway, C. T. Strattan;
2Oth, T. M. Simpson. W. McAdams.
896 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The platform contained several new planks, as follows: in
favor of a readjustment of the revenue law; and of a revision
of the criminal code; the duty of state and national legislators
to enact laws in the interest and for the protection of labor;
favoring laws to promote the fidelity and efficiency of the civil
service.
The republican national convention met at Chicago, June 3,
1884. James G. Elaine was nominated for president on the
fourth ballot, and John Alexander Logan for vice-president by
a unanimous vote.*
The democratic state-convention met at Peoria on July 2.
Judge Monroe C. Crawford was selected as the permanent
president, and William J. Mize, secretary.
Upon the presentation of the platform, a heated discussion
was precipitated by Carter H. Harrison on the question of
instructing the delegates to the national convention to vote as
a unit in favor of a tariff for revenue only, which he moved to
strike out. The debate was continued amid great confusion
and excitement by Gen. Palmer, Col. W. R. Morrison, opposing
the motion, and others. The motion to strike out the instruc-
tions was carried by a vote of 753 to 623.
Carter H. Harrison was nominated for governor and Henry
Seiter for lieutenant-governor by general consent. The other
nominees were as follows: Michael J. Dougherty for secretary
of state, Alfred Orendorf for treasurer; Walter E. Carlin for
auditor, and Robert L. McKinlay for attorney general.
The platform contained strong resolutions against the tariff,
all sumptuary legislation, and the republican party, and in
favor of the rights of labor, wage-workers, honest money, and
home rule.-f-
* Ballotings for republican candidate for president, 1884:
BALLOT ELAINE ARTHUR EDMUNDS LOGAN SHERMAN SCATTR*G
1st,
334^
278
93
63^
30
18
2d,
349
276
85-
61
28
19
3d,
375
274
69
53
25
23
4 th,
54i
297
4i
7
17
t The delegates appointed to the national convention were, as follows: at large,
John M. Palmer, William R. Morrison, John C. Black, Lambert Tree; 1st district,
Joseph C. Mackin, W. C. Seipp; 2d, E. F. Cullerton, J. H. Hildreth; 3d, Carter
H. Harrison, Christian Casselman; 4th, Harry Reubens, Frederick H. Winston;
5th, J. F. Glidden, G. W. Renwick; 6th, T. J. Shehan, F. H. Marsh; 7th, C. H.
RESULT OF THE ELECTION OF 1884. 897
The nominees of the greenback party were, as follows: for
governor, Jesse Harper; lieutenant-governor, A. C. Vander-
water; secretary of state, H. E. Baldwin; treasurer, Benjamin
W. Goodhue; auditor, E. F. Reeves; attorney-general, John N.
Gwin. Their convention was held at Springfield in July.
The prohibition state-convention was held again at Bloom-
ington, June 18, and nominated the following ticket: for gov-
ernor, J. B. Hobbs; lieutenant-governor, James L. Ferryman;
secretary of state, C. W. Enos; treasurer, Uriah Copp; auditor,
A. B. Irwin; attorney-general, Hale Johnson.
The democratic national convention met, also at Chicago,
July 10, Gov. Grover Cleveland of New York was nominated
for president on the second ballot, and ex-Senator Thomas A.
Hendricks of Indiana for vice-president.
The nominees of the "greenback national" party at their
convention held at Indianapolis, May 28, were Gen. Benjamin
F. Butler of Massachusetts for president,, and Gen. A. M. West
of Mississippi for vice-president.
The "prohibition, home protection" party nominated its
ticket at Pittsburg, July 23, as follows: for president, John P.
St. John of 4 Kansas, and for vice-president William Daniel of
Maryland.
The national battle-ground in 1884, as it had been in 1880,
was New York, where the contest was so evenly waged that for
two weeks after the election the result was still in doubt, both
parties claiming success. The official count, however, gave the
state to Cleveland by the small plurality of 1047 votes; and for
the first time in twenty- eight years, the democrats succeeded
in electing their candidate for president.
In Illinois, the returns showed the following result:
For the Blaine electors, 337,469 Cleveland electors, 312,3151
For St. John, 12,074 Butler, 10,776
McCouthre, Sherwood Dixon; 8th, A. J. O'Connor, J. R. S. Scoville; 9th, Andrew
Kerr, W. R. Dunn; loth, S. P. Shope, Strother Givens; llth, B. T. Cable, John
Hungate; I2th, Ellis Briggs, W. L. Vandeventer; 13, W. P. Gallon, Benjamin
Prettyman; I4th, A. E. Stevens, Charles A. Ewing; I5th, J B. Mann, William A.
Day; i6th, W. B. Parsons, J. H. Hawley; iyth, Anthony Thornton, Jesse J.
Phillips; l8th. William H. Kane, Douglas Haile; iQth, Charles E. McDowell, W.
A. J. Sparks; 2Oth, William J. Allen, William H. Green.
ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
On state officers, it was as follows:
Governor, - j Oglesby, 334,234 Hobbs, 10,905
1 Harrison, 319,635 Harper, 8,605
c r c-i. f Dement, 338,240 Enos, 8,860
Secretary of State -{
(Dougherty, 314,490 Baldwin, 10,219
Auditor - fSwigert, 337,886 Irwin, 11,344
\ Carlin, 313,322 Reeves, 10,142
The figures for the other state-officers were about the same
as those for auditor.
A new and important question was presented to Governor
Hamilton growing out of the election of a senator in the sixth
district of Cook County. The returns showed that Rudolph
Brand received 6696 and Henry W. Leman 6686 votes, but the
state board of canvassers reported to the governor that from
the statements and affidavits presented with the returns, Leman
in fact had received a majority of 390 votes; the board reported
further that being in doubt as to who did receive the highest
number of votes they declined to certify the election of either
claimant.
Upon this state of facts, the governor took the ground that,
under the circumstances, he had a right to go bfehind the
returns, and becoming satisfied upon careful investigation that
the original returns as made out were fraudulent, and that
Leman had received a majority of the votes polled, he assumed
the responsibility and issued to him the certificate of his election.
And by this determined and unprecedented action, the governor
thwarted that scheme, conceived after the election, when it was
discovered that this one vote in the senate would secure a
democratic majority in the legislature and the election of a
democratic United- States senator in the place of Gen. Logan.
The action of the governor in thus converting a merely minis-
terial act into a judicial enquiry was severely criticised at the
time, but he was sustained by the legislature, by the press,
and by the public generally.*
The message of Gov. Hamilton to the thirty-fourth general
* The perpetrators of the fraud were indicted and three of them convicted in the
United-States district-court, and sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of two
years and to pay a fine of five thousand dollars. The case being removed to the
United- States circuit-court, the defendants were admitted to bail, and upon the
ELECTION FRAUDS IN SIXTH DISTRICT. 899
assembly was an intelligent and business-like statement of the
financial and institutional interests of the State. Of the old
bonds which had been supposed lost or destroyed one for $500
had been presented for payment. It now amounted to $U45-
In view of the frauds in the sixth senatorial district, the
governor recommended that the election law be amended so
that election precincts should not contain more than 300 voters;
and that the registry of voters be completed ten days before
the election.
Owing to the failure of the house to organize, Gov. Oglesby
was not sworn in until January 30, 1885. Soon afterward, ex-
Gov. Hamilton removed to Chicago, where he now resides,
practising his profession.
hearing, before Judges Harlan and Gresham, a divided opinion was certified to the
supreme court of the United States. Joseph C. Mackin, one of the defendants,
was subsequently tried, in the criminal court of Cook County, on a charge of perjury
for swearing falsely as a witness in the case, and sent to the penitentiary for four
years.
Another event of this period, the Haymarket riots of May 4, 1886, although
local to Chicago in its immediate bearings, was of national importance. The
communistic element in the city, confined mostly to foreigners, took advantage of
the eight-hour labor strike of May I, 1886, to precipitate the fearful catastrophe
which had been long premeditated. It is impossible within the limits here pre-
scribed to set forth the injurious extent to which this element of anarchy carried
its defiance of law and order in their meetings and through their press.
At one of these meetings at the Haymarket, on the evening of May 4, every
means to aggravate an already -excited populace was resorted to, including the
circulation of hand -bills inciting the people "To arms! We call you to arms!"
A great crowd assembled, which became frenzied with excitement, and when the
police approached the wagon used for a stand, to order the people to disperse, a
speaker said: "There are the bloodhounds coming; do your duty and I will do
mine. " As the police came up a bomb was thrown and exploded in their midst,
followed by the sharp report of fire-arms. Seven policemen were killed and sixty
wounded. The number of casualties among the rioters, certainly very large, has
never been ascertained. August Spies, Adolph Fischer, George Engel, Albert R.
Parsons, Louis Lingg, Michael Schwab, and Samuel Fielden, leaders of the mob,
were arrested and tried for murder, and all found guilty; the four first named
being hung, November n, 1887; Lingg committed suicide, and the sentences ol
Schwab and Fielden were commuted to life -terms in the penitentiary.
CHAPTER XLVII.
Second Administration of Oglesby Thirty-fourth General
Assembly The Logan -Morrison Contest for United-
States Senate Special Election in the Thirty-fourth
District Laws Strikes Conventions and Elections
of 1886 Thirty -fifth General Assembly Election of
Farwell to the Senate, vice Logan deceased Laws
Conventions and Elections of 1888.
THE nomination and election of Gen. Oglesby to the office
of governor for the third term, an interval of twenty
years having elapsed between the first and last event, was a
political triumph as creditable to the party to which he had
been always steadfast as it was personally gratifying to him.
Perhaps no other similar instance of gubernatorial preferment
can be found in the history of the states. The record of his
first term had been without a stain; his second term had
scarcely begun when he was elected to the United-States senate,
as a candidate for which office, during the interim between his
second and third terms, he was twice defeated; and it was
asserted in some quarters that the governor had been relegated
to the category of "back numbers." But when the republican
convention of 1884 was called, remembering the telling blows
which he had dealt the opposition during previous campaigns,
all eyes were turned toward the favorite of 1864, who had
never disappointed their expectations.*
Gen. John Corson Smith, the lieutenant-governor elect, was
born in Philadelphia, Penn., February 13, 1832. He became a
resident of Illinois in 1854, and being a practical carpenter, suc-
cessfully engaged in the business of a builder and contractor at
Galena. He enlisted as a private in what was afterward known
as Company I, 96th Regiment of Illinois Volunteers and was
elected captain. Upon the organization of the regiment, he
was chosen major and for gallant service on the staff of Gen.
* H. J. Caldwell was appointed the governor's private secretary, having acted in
that capacity while he was senator.
QOO
THE IWURY
OF THE
I'R'VERSITY Of ILUKSI5
THE THIRTY- FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 90 1
James B. Steedman at Chickamauga was promoted lieutenant-
colonel. He commanded his regiment at the battles of Resaca
and New Hope; and at Kenesaw, where he commanded a bri-
gade, he was severely wounded. At the close of the war, he
was brevetted a brigadier-general "for meritorious services."
After the war, Gen. Smith removed to Chicago and engaged
in business on the board of trade. In 1877, he was appointed
chief grain-inspector, and as has been shown, was elected state
treasurer in 1878, and reelected in 1882. In all of these posi-
tions, as in that of lieutenant-governor, the general acquitted
himself as a competent, obliging, and trustworthy officer, enjoy-
ing the respect and confidence of his fellow-citizens.
The campaign of 1884 showed some surprising features.
The republicans carried the State by a small majority for their
presidential ticket and for all the state officers except governor,
Oglesby running considerably behind in Cook County. This
fact may be explained by the circumstance that his opponent,
Carter H. Harrison, through personal popularity and the opera-
tion of local influences, succeeded in.' carrying that county by
a majority of 103, although tjie. s;ame county gave Elaine a
plurality of 8622 over, Cteveland: ' Notwithstanding its suc-
cess upon the state and presidential tickets, however, the party
failed to secure a majority of the thirty- fourth general assem-
bly, which was chosen at the same election.
The senate stood 26 republicans, 24 democrats, and one
greenback-democrat. In the house, the two leading parties
numbered 76 members each, with E. M. Haines calling himself
an independent, holding the balance of power.
The new members of the senate were: Charles H. Crawford,
Thos. A. Cantwell, and Henry W. Leman from Cook County;
Ira R. Curtis, Me Henry; Edward B. Sumner, Winnebago;
James S. Cochran, Stephenson; Henry H. Evans, reelected,
Kane; Hamilton K. Wheeler, Kankakee; George Torrence,
reelected, Livingston; Green P. Orendorff, Tazewell; August
W. Berggren, reelected, Knox; Alson J. Streeter, Mercer;
Andrew J. Bell, Peoria; Lafayette Funk, McLean; Martin B.
Thompson, Champaign; Henry Van Sellar, to fill out the term
of Geo. Hunt, resigned, Edgar; Wm. B. Galbraith, Coles; John
M. Darnell, Schuyler; James W Johnson, Pike; David Gore,
902 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Macoupin; Elizur Southworth, Montgomery; Wm. S. Foreman,
Washington; Robley D. Adams, Wayne; Richard L. Organ,
White; John J. Higgins, Perry; and George W. Hill, Jackson.
The following members of the house had served previously:
Robert B. Kennedy, William H. Harper, Hilon A. Parker,
John W. E. Thomas, John Humphrey, George G. Struckman,
Clayton E. Crafts, Charles E. Fuller, E. M. Haines, Albert F.
Brown, E. L. Cronkrite, P. A. Sundelius, Luther L. Hiatt,
Andrew Welch, Albert G. Goodspeed, Henry C. Cleveland,
Thomas Nowers, jr., Albert W. Boyden, S. H. W T est, William
F. Calhoun, E. R. E. Kimbrough, John W. Moore, Benjamin F.
Caldwell, Charles A. Keyes, George H. Varnell, Joseph B.
Messick, and David T. Linegar. Among the new members,
taking leading parts, maybe mentioned the following: Abner
Taylor, Thomas C. Me Millan, Henry S. Boutell, Francis W.
Parker, James Pollock, Frederick S. Baird, John Stewart,
Henry C. Whittemore, William M. Hanna, Charles Bogardus,
Robert E. Logan, Orrin P. Cooley, Clarence R. Gittings, James
H. Miller, S. B. Kinsey, Ivory H. Pike, Virgil S. Ruby, Perry
Logsdon, J. Henry Shaw, Frederick P. Taylor, James M. Dill,
Samuel Mileham, William H. Collins, William H. Breckenridge,
Byron McEvers, Theodore S. Chapman, Edward L. McDonald,
Charles Kerr, William R. Prickett, and John Yost.*
The republicans organized the senate on the first day of the
meeting of the general assembly, Jan. 7, 1885, by the election
of William J. Campbell president pro tempore. The eminent
fitness of Mr. Campbell for this position is evidenced by his elec-
tion for a third term. Although born in Philadelphia in 1850,
his father removed to Cook County in this State, when his son
was but two years of age and there he has resided ever since.
His attendance at the Chicago public schools was supplemented
by two years study at the University of Pennsylvania. He
was admitted to the bar in 1875, and is now among the leading
members of his profession in Chicago. Mr. Campbell is not
distinguished as a public speaker, but he possesses executive
abilities of the highest order. His smooth and clean adminis-
tration of affairs in the senate was the theme of just encomium
on all sides. Lorenzo D. Watson was reflected secretary.
* A complete list of all the members will be found in the Legislative Record.
ORGANIZATION OF THE HOUSE. 903
The organization of the house was not so easily effected.
The republican caucus nominated Charles E. Fuller of Boone
for speaker, and the democratic, Edward L. Cronkrite of
Stephenson. The candidates for temporary speaker were E.
M. Haines and Joseph B. Messick of St. Clair, the former being
elected on January 8. Other temporary officers, the democratic
nominees, were elected on the same day.
The time of the house was occupied in preliminary motions
which were usually declared out of order by the speaker in
appeals from his decisions, and in calling the roll on motions to
adjourn until January 21, when Haines resigned the chair. He
was succeeded by E. L. Cronkrite, who occupied the position of
temporary speaker until January 29, when the democrats find-
ing it impossible to elect their own candidate, concluded once
more to accept Haines as the lesser of two evils. The ballot
stood 78 for Haines, who received the vote of his opponent and
of E. A. Sittig, republican, of Cook; and 74 for Fuller; and one,
Haines, for Cronkrite. The other permanent officers upon the
democratic slate, including Robert A. D. Wilbanks as clerk,
were also elected. The new state-officers were inaugurated on
January 30.
The public interest taken in the work of the organization of
the general assembly was intense. Yet it dwindled into insig-
nificance in comparison with the excitation of feeling aroused
by the subsequent contest over that far more important event,
the election of a United-States senator, which was regarded as
fraught with such momentous consequences as to lead to the
perpetration of a grave crime with a view to controlling the
result.
Had the conspiracy to seat Rudolph Brand as a member of
the senate been successful, the election of a democrat as the
successor of Gen. Logan would have followed with reasonable
certainty, which event would probably have changed the politi-
cal complexion of the United-States senate. The first part of
the scheme had failed as hereinbefore related, but should Haines
who had just been chosen speaker by democratic votes act
with the party which had elevated him to that office, Logan's
defeat was assured.
The choice of the democrats for senator, as shown in their
904 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
caucus was unmistakably Col. William R. Morrison, although
his selection was not so unanimous as was that by the republi-
cans of Gen. Logan. In the case of the latter, it was admitted
that there were two or three representatives, whose preference
was for somebody else; while the number of those of his
fellow- democrats who would probably refuse to support Col.
Morrison was still larger.
On February 10, the day fixed by law for the taking of the
first ballot, no vote was had in the senate and but an informal
one in the house. The contending parties did not meet face to
face in joint-session until the i8th, when there were present 51
senators and 151 representatives, and the first complete ballot
disclosed the following result: for Logan 101, Morrison 94,
Haines 4, and 3 scattering Logan lacking one vote of an elec-
tion. On the I9th and 2Oth, every member of both houses
was present and the balloting was continued with about the
same results. These were the only days that both parties met
in joint-session and voted during the months of February,
March, and April. Sometimes one side, sometimes the other,
sometimes both sides refrained from voting, the object being to
break a quorum.
Had it entered the head of Speaker Haines, who was in-
clined to take original and -striking views, to rule as did Speaker
Reed in the fifty- first congress, that the speaker had a right to
count those as present who had been considered constructively
absent because they refused to vote, a conclusion must inevitably
have been reached long before it was.
To lend additional complications to the contest during its
pendency, the seats of two members of the house and one
senator became vacant by death. These events occurred in
the following order: Robert E. Logan, republican, of the nine-
teenth district, died February 26; Senator Frank M. Bridges,
democrat, of the thirty - seventh district, March 20; and J.
Henry Shaw, democrat, of the thirty- fourth district, April 13.
Elections were called by the governor, and these vacancies filled
as soon as possible Dwight S. Spafford, republican, succeeded
Logan; and Robert H. Davis, democrat, succeeded Bridges. It
was the masterly capture of the thirty- fourth district, which
had given Cleveland a plurality of 2060 votes, by the republi-
ELECTION OF UNITED- STATES SENATOR. 905
cans which changed the aspect of the struggle and secured the
success of Logan.
When the death of Robt. E. Logan occurred, there were some
hints thrown out that the democrats intended to elect his suc-
cessor on the "still-hunt" plan, but the district was so over-
whelmingly republican and well organized that it was found
impracticable to make the attempt. The same thing occurred
on the demise of Senator Bridges, but the democratic majority
was so large in his district that it was considered useless to
undertake to overcome it. Gen. Logan, however, was not of
this opinion and when, soon after the death of Shaw, he received
a letter, from Henry Craske of Rushville, suggesting a plan to
carry the district, followed soon after by other letters from
other counties, the question began to receive serious considera-
tion. Several schemes were presented, one of which was the
use of money, another to work through the grand army, and
others equally wild and untenable. At length, a conference
was held between the general, Daniel Shepard, secretary of the
republican state-central committee, Samuel H. Jones, an old
and skilful wire-puller, who remembered how the democrats had
elected the successor of Abraham Lincoln in 1854 under similar
circumstances, and Jacob Wheeler, a former resident of the
thirty-fourth district and then United States marshal, which led
to the adoption of the plan which was crowned with success.
John T. Beekman of Schuyler County was first mentioned as
the candidate but upon further consultation, the name of Capt.
William H. Weaver of Menard County was substituted a
change which owing to the delay in delivering the tickets in
Schuyler County, where the name of Beekman had been used
and tickets sent to some precincts, had well-nigh proved fatal
to the whole scheme. The tickets were printed and sent to the
different counties by Wells Corey of the Mason City Journal.
The plan to contest the district was sacredly kept in the
breasts of a few men in each county, and only communicated
to those whom it was necessary to employ to distribute the
tickets, the day before the election. The instruments selected
for this work were insurance, lightning-rod, and sewing-machine
agents, and cattle and hog buyers, who religiously discharged
the trust committed to their hands.
58
906 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Everything was done according to the program. Voters were
instructed not to go to the polls before three o'clock and not to
excite suspicion by displaying their printed tickets. In a few
instances only, the democrats discovered that something unusual
was going on but it was too late in the day to rally the party
strength. Everything "worked together" to help out the plan.
Speaker Haines and a large number of the members of the legis-
lature had accepted an invitation to visit the exposition at New
Orleans on May I, and between that period and the 6th the
day of the election "the bugles sounded a truce" in the sena-
torial fight, and the meetings of the two houses of the general
assembly were merely perfunctory. Morrison took advantage
of the situation to pay a visit to Washington feeling assured
that there was no danger of surprise. It is true, however, that
there were not wanting democrats outside of the district who
were anxiously observing the situation and warned leading men
to be watchful and wary. So secret had every arrangement
been carried out that Judge Bagby, a leading democrat of Rush-
ville, feeling that all was right, left home for St. Louis on the
6th without voting, although he had received a dispatch that
morning from Scott Wike stating that he had heard rumors of
a movement to beat Leeper, the democratic candidate, and
advising him to "sound the alarm." Similar notes of warning
were sent into other counties all of which were unheeded.
So well had the plans been executed that it was not until
the votes were counted that the extent of the republican
victory was known. Weaver carried three out of the four
counties Menard, Mason, and Schuyler, and was elected by
336 majority. The astonishment and chagrin of the democrats
over their defeat is indiscribable and was only equalled by the
exuberant joy of the republicans. Of course all the time the
law allowed was consumed in canvassing the returns, but no
unnecessary or unusual impediments in the way of seating
Capt. Weaver were interposed and he was sworn in on May 15.
On May 14, knowing it would be the last opportunity, a
supreme effort was made by the friends of Morrison to secure
his election. Every democrat was present, and he received 101
votes the republicans not voting lacking two votes of a
majority. It was his last chance, and on the fourth ballot, the
THIRD ELECTION OF SENATOR LOGAN. 907
democrats began to concentrate on ex-Judge Lambert Tree of
Chicago, who, on the sixth ballot also received 101 votes. No
further ballots were taken until the i8th, when upon the meet-
ing of the joint-assembly every member was present, and Gen.
Logan, receiving 103 votes to 96 for Judge Tree and 5 scatter-
ing, was duly elected. Prolonged cheers and shouts greeted
the announcement of this result, and Gen. Logan was brought
to the rostrum and made a happy address. The struggle on
the part of the principal contestants had been conducted in
perfect good feeling, with a chivalrous regard for fair play on
the part of each, and ended with no bitterness other than that
disappointment which usually follows defeat. Telegrams, con-
gratulating the general on his great victory, poured in from
Washington and all the leading cities of the Union.
Up to the time of the election of senator, although over
four months of the session had passed, but little legislative
business had been consummated of the 400 and more bills
introduced in the senate and 600 in the house, two or three only
had been enacted into laws.
The new board of railroad -and -warehouse commissioners
was appointed and confirmed on April 2, as follows: John I.
Rinaker, William T. Johnson, and Benjamin F. Marsh. The
grain -inspector, Frank Drake, appointed by Gov. Hamilton,
was confirmed, February 24. The new board of canal -com-
missioners, although their names were sent to the senate April
20, were not confirmed until May 28; they were, as follows:
George F. Brown, Isaac Taylor, and A. Lieberknecht.
A determined effort was now made to go to work in earnest
and complete the appropriation bills and perfect such other
measures as might be deemed desirable. Then followed the
usual contentions over conflicting schemes, including squabbles
with the speaker who had not grown in popularity since his
occupancy of the chair in 1875 and who shaped his rulings with
a view to the success of the measures in whose passage he took
an interest. An attempt was made, June 4, to suspend the
rules, for the purpose of introducing a resolution to depose the
speaker and elect another in his place, which failed. But out
of the heated discussion which the effort brought forth grew an
investigation of charges against certain members of bribery
908 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
and corruption. A committee was appointed, but the testimony
was conflicting and no tangible result was reached. It seemed
to clear the legislative atmosphere, however, as from this time
forth the proceedings of both houses were characterized by
diligent attention to business, resulting in the passage of many
commendable laws. The speaker having vacated the chair on
the last afternoon of the session, June 26, Charles E. Fuller
filled the place until the final adjournment, receiving the thanks
of the body for his courtesy and the successful dispatch of
business.
During the closing hours, Gov. Oglesby visited both houses
and a speech from him was demanded an innovation which
called forth happy responses, his excellency stating that the
verdict of the people would be that the thirty- fourth was "a
respectable and honorable general assembly."
Among the laws passed were the following: appropriating
$531,712 for the completion of the state-house, under the law
passed by the thirty-third general assembly and ratified by the
people, Nov. 4, 1884; revising the law in relation to contagious
diseases of animals, and providing for a live-stock commission;
to establish a soldiers' and sailors' home, subsequently located
at Quincy; to protect all citizens in their civil rights; requiring
judges of the appellate court to file written opinions in all cases
upon final hearing; to regulate the granting of continuances in
criminal cases, so that it shall not be required to admit the
absolute truth of the matter set up in the affidavit for continuance,
but that only such absent witness, if present, would testify as
alleged in the affidavit; to provide for drainage for agricultural
and sanitary purposes; the Curtis election law, regulating the
holding of elections in cities, for election commissioners, et cetera
the law now in force in Chicago and other large cities; the
Crawford law to regulate primary elections of volunteer politi-
cal associations; relating to fire-escapes for buildings; new laws
on the subjects of fish and game, and mines and mining; to
increase the powers of railroad corporations, authorizing con-
solidations of connecting lines and to borrow money.
A joint - resolution was adopted submitting an amendment
to the constitution providing that "hereafter it shall be un-
lawful for the commissioners of any penitentiary or other
STATE CONVENTIONS OF 1 886. 909
reformatory institution in the State of Illinois, to let by con-
tract to any person, or persons, or corporations, the labor of any
convict confined within said institution." This was ratified by
the people at the November election, 1886, by a majority of
19,525 on a total vote cast of 574,080.
A joint-resolution was also adopted providing for the appoint-
ment of a committee of twelve men, to be equally divided
between the two leading political parties of trie State, with
authority to propose and frame a new revenue code. They
were to meet on the first Wednesday in September, 1885, in
Springfield, and to furnish a copy of their report to the secre-
tary of state by the first of March, 1886. This committee was
made up of the following distinguished citizens: Milton Hay,
Sangamon County, chairman; Andrew D. Duff, Jackson; Hora-
tio C. Burchard, Stephenson; W. Selden Gale, Knox; E. B.
Green, Wabash; Charles D. Waller, Frank P. Crandon, and
George Trumbull, Cook; Charles A. Ewing, Macon; William
C. Wilson, Crawford; Charles W. Thomas, St. Clair; and Benj.
Warren, sr., Hancock.
The political events of 1886 were of the usual off-year de-
scription. The democrats, being in power in the national gov-
ernment, were the first to call their state convention which met
at Springfield, August 26. Henry Francis J. Ricker, of Adams
County, was nominated for treasurer, and Franklin T. Oldt, of
Carroll, for state superintendent of public instruction. The
platform, read by Melville W. Fuller, in addition to former
utterances on the tariff and cognate subjects, embraced the
following points: opposition to the ownership of real estate by
foreigners, and to the importation of foreign labor; hostility to
the prohibition, by the constitution or general laws, of the man-
ufacture or sale of vinous, malt, or spirituous liquors as being
in violation of individual and personal right and contrary to
the fundamental principles of a free government; favoring the
proposed constitutional amendment regarding the letting of
convict labor on contract.
The republican state-convention met September I, and nomi-
nated the following ticket: Senator John R. Tanner, Clay
County, for state treasurer, and Richard Edwards, of Bureau
County, for state superintendent of public instruction.
ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
A departure from the ordinary custom of republican state-
conventions was made in the refusal to appoint any members
of the state central committee from the State at large. The
platform adopted agreed with that of the democrats in oppos-
ing land ownership by non-resident aliens and in endorsing the
proposed constitutional amendment regarding contract labor.
It also approved of the inter-state commerce law as championed
by Senator Cullom, and recommended a revision of the state
revenue system, to relieve small property holders who con-
tributed more than their pro-rata share to the public burdens
of taxation.
The nominees of the greenback -labor party were John Bud-
long for treasurer, and Daniel L. Braucher for superintendent
of public instruction; while those of the prohibitionists were
Henry W. Austin for the former office, and Ulrich Z. Gilmer
for the latter. The result at the polls of these various candi-
dacies was as follows: for state treasurer, Tanner 276,680,
Ricker 240,864, Budlong 34,821, Austin 19,766 For superin-
tendent of public instruction: Edwards 276,710, Oldt 246,782,
Braucher 34,701, Gilmer 19,402; showing that while the repub-
licans elected their state ticket by a plurality of over 35,000,
they were in a minority in the state of over 18,000.
Serious labor troubles, followed by strikes and disturbances
of the peace, occurred in 1885 and 1886. The first of these
was at Joliet and Lemont, May I and 4, among the stone-
quarrymen, where the outbreak assumed such character as to
justify, in the opinion of the sheriffs of Will and Cook counties,
a call upon the governor for military assistance. Gen. Joseph
W. Vance, state adjutant -general, having been despatched by
the governor to visit the disturbed localities, called upon Col.
Frederick Bennett of the 4th Infantry, on May I, to report
with four companies to the sheriff of Will County. The strik-
ing workmen occupied the quarries and insisted upon driving
away any employes offering to take their place. A mob of 250
strikers being ordered to disperse peaceably, refused, and bran-
dishing clubs and crying "On to Joliet, no man shall work"
endeavored to proceed on their way, when they were closed in
upon by the militia and seventy of the rioters arrested and sent
as prisoners to Joliet. Gen. Vance, who was on the ground,
STRIKES AT LEMONT AND EAST ST. LOUIS. 911
thinks this would have ended the difficulty at this time, had
not the sheriff of Will County released the prisoners instead of
taking them before the courts for trial. However this may be,
the trouble broke out afresh at Lemont on May 4, when the
troops were ordered to that point, where a mob of over 500
ex-workmen were threateningly assembled. Instead of dis-
persing when so ordered by the deputy-sheriff, they rushed upon
the militia and assaulted them with stones. The troops fired
in return, killing three of the rioters and wounding eleven
others. Several soldiers, all of whom, with their officers, acted
with great coolness and bravery, were wounded. This ended
the outbreak, although the troops were not ordered home until
May 13.
A strike of the railroad switchmen at East St. Louis in April,
1886, was the occasion of again calling out the state military.
Not feeling satisfied from the representations of the sheriff of
St. Clair County that he would be justified in rendering the
assistance asked, Gov. Oglesby visited the scene of disturbance
in person for the purpose of acquainting himself with all the
facts. The governor felt assured from this personal investiga-
tion that the power of the civil arm of the government and of
the posse-comitatus had not been exhausted, and declined to issue
the call for the militia. Gen. Vance was left on the ground to
watch the turn of events. The sheriff finding that he was
unable to preserve the peace and afford needed protection to
property with his posse of 150 men, again, on April 9, requested
the intervention of the troops. The governor being now con-
vinced of the necessity, made the call on that day, appointing
Col. R. M. Smith, 8th Infantry, in command. On this same
day, a force of deputies fired upon a crowd of strikers, killing
four and wounding five. Gen. J. N. Reece, of the 2d Brigade,
was ordered forward on the next day. The presence of so large
a body of troops, 17 companies in all, soon brought order out
of confusion, and business was again resumed without further
interference.
The militia was subsequently called out at the request of the
sheriff of Cook County, Seth F. Hanchett, Nov. 8, 1886, to aid
in preserving the peace and protecting property in consequence
of a strike among the hands at the Union Stock-Yards. The
912 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
troops here were in command of Brig.-Gen. Charles FitzSimons.
Order was restored and they were withdrawn November 20.
The governor was criticised in the first instance for calling
out the troops in these disturbances before a proper foundation
had been laid therefor by the civil authorities; and in the second
place for not calling them out sooner at East St. Louis, where
it was alleged the wholesale slaughter by the deputies before
alluded to might have been prevented had that been done.
The governor, in his message to the thirty -fifth general
assembly, replies to these objections, it must be admitted, with
considerable force, as follows:
"It was equally plain that the sheriff had not made much
use of the ample means at his command to arrest the disorder
that the law confers upon him. I felt an occasion had arisen
when the civil power of the State should be tested, and, if
possible, fairly tested, before resorting to military power.
"The law of the State empowers the sheriff of any county
to appoint and arm deputies; to call out the entire male popu-
lation of the entire county and arm it. St. Clair County con-
tains a population of more than 60,000 people. It would seem
that if ever the posse- comitatus of the county, or indeed any
county, was to be made available, an occasion had arisen in the
wealthy and densely- populated county of St. Clair to test the
reliability and utility of such a force. I therefore insisted, in
several interviews with the sheriff, that he should appoint a
large number of deputies and call out the power of his county,
and at least make an earnest effort to restore order, preserve
the peace, execute the law, and assert its supremacy, before
calling on the governor to aid him with a military force. The
sheriff assured me he would make the best effort he could, and
also repeatedly expressed to me his opinion and gave me his
assurance that there would be no occasion for calling out the
militia. Upon such assurance, I returned to Springfield, after,
however, directing the sheriff to keep me advised by telegraph
several times daily of affairs under his charge.
"The sheriff did increase the number of his deputies and did
summon the posse of his county, and made some additional
effort to restore the supremacy of the law.
"Finally, on the Qth of April, after such effort as had been
CALLING OUT THE MILITIA THE CALL. 913
made to restore peace and order, he again made formal request
for aid and I thereupon immediately ordered a necessary mili-
tary force to report to him. * *
"It would seem but reasonable, having conferred the power
upon the executive department to see that the laws be faithfully
executed, that some provision should have been made for the
execution of so grave a trust. It has not been done. The law
has up to this time remained silent upon this important subject.
"If it is to be understood that the power to see the laws faith-
fully executed resides in that other power that he shall be com-
mander- in -chief of the military and naval forces, and may call
out the same to execute the law, how and in what cases, and
upon what conditions, shall this power be exercised? Can the
governor, upon his own suggestion, call out the militia and send
it to any county, township, or ci f y in this State, at his pleasure?
Can he, upon mere rumor or the invitation of private citizens,
do so? Or ought he only to do so upon official information
laid before him by the sheriff of a county or the mayor of a
city, and a request or demand from such official source for
military assistance? And if upon such request or demand from
such civil officers he must do so, may he, in any case of mob,
riot, or unlawful assembly in any part of the State, decline to
do so until such request or demand be made for aid by such
civil officer? These are important inquiries and, in my opinion,
require legislative action for their satisfactory settlement. Espe-
cially do they become important inquiries when taken in con-
nection with section 15, article 2, of the state constitution,
which declares: 'The military shall be in strict subordination
to the civil power.' If in any case the militia may be called
out to aid the civil officers of the State to execute the law, how,
I ask, in strict subordination to the civil power, in the absence
of any statute upon the subject, can the military be used except
it report to the sheriff or mayor under orders from the governor
to aid such civil power? I do not object to the provision of
the constitution; on the contrary, I hold it to be a wise restraint
upon the military powers of the State. Without legislation
upon the subject, however, the governor of the State will
always experience perplexity in endeavoring to execute the
law by this agency."
914 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The thirty-fifth general assembly convened Jan. 5, 1887. Of
the 27 new senators, Daniel Hogan of Pulaski was the only one
reflected, although William E. Shutt had formerly served in
that body eight years. The following had previously been
members of the house: John Humphrey of Cook; Joseph
Reinhardt of LaSalle; Isaac N. Pearson of Macomb; Theodore
S. Chapman of Jersey; Andrew J. Reavill of Crawford; and
John Yost of Gallatin. The following were new in legislative
service: Bernard A. Eckhart, George A. Gibbs, Jas. Monahan,
Philip Knopf, R. M. Burke, M. F. Garrity, Cook; Chas. H. Bacon,
of Will; Charles F. Greenwood, DeKalb; John D. Crabtree,
Lee; John H. Pierce, Henry; Edward A. Washburn, Bureau;
Wm. C. Johns, Macon; George E. Bacon, Edgar; Thomas L.
McGrath, to fill vacancy, Coles; Lloyd B. Stephenson, Shelby;
Geo. W. Dean, Adams; Wm. F. L. Hadley, Madison; Augustus
M. Strattan, Jefferson; and Henry Seiter, St. Clair 32 were
republicans, 17 democrats, one greenback -democrat Streeter,
and one labor Burke.
August W. Berggren was elected president pro tcmpore; and
the list of republican officers, headed by L. F. Watson as
secretary. August Berggren is a native of Sweden. He had
served four times as sheriff of his county, Knox, and had now
entered upon his second term as senator. In 1889, he succeeded
Maj. R. W. McClaughry as warden of the northern penitentiary
which position he is acceptably filling at present.
About one-fifth of the members of the lower house had seen
service therein before. Among these may be mentioned: Chas.
A. Allen, Wm. R. Archer (in the senate), John H. Baker, Charles
Bogardus, Alfred Brown, William F. Calhoun, James R. Camp-
bell, David W. Clark, William H. Collins, Orrin P. Cooley,
Clayton E. Crafts, Robert H. Davis in the senate, Charles E.
Fuller, John L. Hamilton, James Herrington, W. W. Hoskinson,
Caleb C. Johnson, Samuel B. Kinsey, Robert L. Me Kinlay,
Daniel McLaughlin, Thomas C. McMillan, Joseph P. Mahoney,
Samuel P. Marshall, Thomas E. Merritt, Joseph B. Messick,
James H. Miller, Virgil S. Ruby, Jas. M. Ruggles in the senate,
1853-5, Charles E. Scharlau, John Stewart, Jos. Veile. Among
the new members, who took the most active part in the pro-
ceedings, were the following: Francis A. Brokoski, Bryan Con-
THIRTY- FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 915
way, Henry Decker, Charles G Dixon, Leo P Dwyer, Michael
J. Dwyer, Kirk N. Eastman, John W. Farley, James H. Farrell,
John S. Ford, John J. Furlong, James F. Gleason, Orrigen W.
Herrick, Victor Karlouski, Thomas G. McElligott, Thomas J.
Moran, James O'Connor, Stephen A. Reynolds, George F.
Rohrbach, Frank E. Schoenwald, and William P. Wright, all of
Cook County; John J. Brown of Fayette; Richard G. Breeden,
McDonough; William H. Bundy, Williamson; Charles B. Cole
and Everett J. Murphy, Randolph; Joseph P. Condo, Effing-
ham; Albert L. Converse, Wiley E. Jones, and David T.
Littler, Sangamon; John W. Coppinger and Isaac Cox, Madi-
son; William F. Crawford, Rock Island; Charles Curtiss, Du
Page; William S. Day, Union; Edgar W. Faxon, Kendall;
Clarence R. Gittings, Henderson; Coleman C. George and
Robt. A. Gay, Christian; Michael D. Halpin, Cass; Thomas L.
Hamer, Fulton; Frank Y. Hamilton, McLean; John M. Hart,
Nelson D. Jay, and James Kenny, Peoria; Dwight Haven,
Will; David Hunter, Winnebago; Alexander K. Lowry, Brown;
Charles F. Nellis, Alexander; Charles A. Partridge, Lake;
Francis M. Peel, Piatt; George W. Pepoon, JoDaviess; Hiram
L. Pierce, Logan; O. W. Pollard, Livingston; Sterling Pomeroy,
Bureau; Thomas H. Reiley, Will; Eugene Rice and Westford
Taggart, Douglas; Lewis M. Sawyer and James P. T rench,
LaSalle; George W. Smith, Morgan; Ira Taylor and Albert
W. Wells, Adams; George Wait, Lake; William M. Ward,
Greene; John Wedig, Madison; John W. White, Whiteside;
Frederick Wilkinson, Menard; Wesley C. Williams, Hancock;
James B. Wilson, Macoupin; James P. Wilson, Ogle; Samuel
F. Wilson, Cumberland; Thomas A. Wilson, Clay; John E.
Wright, Morgan; Reuben S. Yocum, Alexander. The house
was divided politically as follows: republicans 78, democrats
66, labor-reform 8, prohibition I Lamont.
The candidates before the republican caucus for speaker were
Dr. William F. Calhoun of DeWitt County; Joseph B. Messick
of St. Clair; David T. Littler of Sangamon, and Charles E.
Fuller of Boone. It required several ballots to decide the con-
test, which resulted in the success of the first -named, Judge
Messick receiving the nomination for the temporary speaker-
ship. The nominee of the democrats was Clayton E. Crafts,
916 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
and of the labor party Chafles G. Dixon both of Cook. The
vote in the house was as follows: Calhoun 78, Crafts 63, Dixon
8, Lament I. Two members were absent and one had deceased.
John A. Reeve was reflected clerk.
Dr. Calhoun is a native of Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, where
he was born Nov. 21, 1844. He received a common-school
education, which was bravely supplemented by a three years'
service in the late civil war as a volunteer from his native state.
He removed to Illinois and studied the profession of a dentist
which he now practises with success in Clinton, the city of his
residence. His service of two terms in the thirty-third and
thirty- fourth general assemblies had amply qualified him for
the successful discharge of the complicated and responsible
duties of presiding officer of the house.
The governor in his message called especial attention to the
work and report of the revenue commission, which he remarked
was composed of "able, experienced, and responsible citizens,
familiar with our revenue system and deeply interested in the
subject;" that they had diligently applied themselves to a study
of the whole question of taxation and revenue, and that he
hoped that at least a portion, if not all, of the new code sub-
mitted by them would be adopted.
He also called attention to the new phase of managing con-
vict labor under the late constitutional amendment on that
subject, stating that the question was beset with no inconsider-
able difficulty, and that large appropriations would be required
if the State was to become a competitor in the field of trade
and commerce with individual enterprise.
The governor gave a highly encouraging account of the con-
dition of the several state institutions, the healthy aspect of its
finances, and closed by making the official announcement of
the death of Senator Logan, which occurred Dec. 26, 1886,
and that it would become the duty of the legislature to elect
his successor. This was the fifth time that the general assem-
bly had been called upon to fill a vacancy in the United-States
senate from Illinois, occasioned by death.
As the republican party had a large majority in the senate
and a safe one in the house, the choice of a senator depended
upon its action, to be determined in a caucus of the members,
m UBBW
Of IHfc
"* '
C. B. FARWELL ELECTED U.-S. SENATOR. 917
which was called to meet Jan. 13, 1887. Charles B. Farwell,
of Cook, had the largest following as a candidate, exclusive of
the delegation from his own county all of whom gave him
their support. But there were several candidates, and if it had
been possible for them to combine against the one in the lead,
they might have named the man. This they were unable to do,
Mr. Farwell being the second choice of most of them. The
several candidates, with the number of votes received by each
on the first ballot, were as follows: Charles B. Farwell 37, John
M. Hamilton 14, L. E. Payson 12, J. G. Cannon n, Thomas J.
Henderson 10, Clark E. Carr 8, Green B. Raum 7, H. C. Bur-
chard 5, and scattering 6. Such changes were made during the
progress of the second ballot that before its completion, Farwell
had received a large majority and his nomination was made
unanimous. William R. Morrison was again the nominee of
the democrats, and Benjamin W. Goodhue was the candidate
of the labor party.
The selection of the republican caucus was confirmed by the
general assembly, January 18, and the announcement of the
election of the nominee made in joint-session on the day fol-
lowing. Senator Farwell, being intrdduce'd, returned thanks for
the honor done him in a short addrfess? When he concluded,
Gov. Oglesby, who was present, was also called upon and briefly
responded.
Charles Benjamin Farwell, son of Henry and Nancy Farwell,
was born in Steuben County, New York, July I, 1823, where
the first fifteen years of his life were spent. He was educated
in the common schools and in the Elmira Academy. With his
father's family, he became a resident of Ogle County, Illinois,
in 1838, where he resided, working on the farm and surveying,
until Jan. 10, 1844, when he removed to Chicago. His life here
for the first few years was that of all energetic young men
struggling for maintenance and position without capital, except
that he was more than ordinarily successful. In 1853, he was
elected county clerk of Cook County and reflected in 1857.
He was also twice elected as one of the board of super-
visors, and once a member of the state board of equalization.
In 1864, he became a partner in the great mercantile firm of
Farwell, Field and Company, since and now, John V. Farwell
9l8 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
and Company, to the management of whose extensive trans-
actions, he gave his close attention.
In 1870, he entered upon the broader field of national politics
as a candidate for congress, and was elected over John Went-
worth by a decisive majority. He was reflected to the forty-
third congress and being again a candidate in 1874, received
the certificate of election but his seat was contested by his
opponent, John V. LeMoyne, to whom it was awarded by con-
gress. Mr. Farwell was also elected to the forty- seventh
congress, his opponent being Perry H. Smith, jr. He was
the first senator elected from this State who was not a lawyer,
or who had not been a state officer, or a member of the judici-
ary, or of the legislature.
In congress, Mr. Farwell was regarded as an industrious and
influential member. He makes no pretentions as a public
speaker, even from manuscript, and his views upon all questions
other than party are ascertained at home only by the record of
his vote and not by any speech, oral or written. Notwithstand-
ing the lack of this generally-considered, requisite qualification
of a public man in this country, Mr. Farwell has maintained a
controlling position in congress and has made himself a leading
power in state and national politics for a quarter of a century,
no one having contributed to the success of his party to a
greater extent than he.
Senator Farwell is of large build, with square, expressive
features, a graceful carriage, and commanding appearance.
Reposeful in demeanor, he is an attractive, though quiet, con-
versationist, reading and judging men by what they do rather
than by what they say. As a citizen, he is public spirited and
enterprising; and as a man, loyal to his party, firmly attached
to his friends, and true to his convictions.
The proceedings of the thirty-fifth general assembly, charac-
terized as they were by industry, intelligence, and practical
common -sense, were more satisfactory to the people of the
State than those of any of its predecessors under the present
constitution. This was not only in the value and importance
of the laws passed, but in the negative work of refusing to give
assent to the passage of bad bills. The work of the session
may be summarized as follows: there were introduced into the
LAWS PASSED, 1887. 919
senate 426 bills of which 146 passed that body and 93 became
laws. In the house, 859 bills were presented, 168 of which
being passed and 72 becoming laws.
Among those of general interest were the following: restrict-
ing the right of aliens to acquire and hold real and personal
estate a fruitage of the platform of both political parties;
Senator Funk's bill, amending the law to prevent the spread of
contagious diseases among domestic animals; providing for
the election by the people of the trustees of the University of
Illinois; appropriating $50,000 to erect a monument to General
John A. Logan; Reynold's bill, providing for the organization
of saving's societies; an act concerning corporations with bank-
ing powers a new state-banking system, submitted to the
people; the Chase bill, prohibiting book -making and pool-
selling; to create a fireman's pension-fund; providing for a
police pension-fund ; to enable corporations to transact a surety
business; Craft's bill, providing for and regulating the adminis-
tration of trusts by trust companies; prohibiting the inter-
marriage of first cousins; a new road-law for counties not under
township organization; and making election day a legal holiday.
The following laws have more especial reference to Chicago
and Cook County: redistricting Chicago into twenty-four wards;
extending police jurisdiction to the surrounding surburban
towns; the mob-and-riot law, making cities and counties respon-
sible for three- fourths of the damages; the Merritt conspiracy
bill, holding the fomenters and inciters of crime equally punish-
able with the dupes; the "little drainage-bill;" providing for
the election of a county-board each year; the Crawford- County
budget-bill; the Gibb's jury- commission bill; to suppress
bucket-shops and gambling in grain.
Much time and attention were bestowed upon the subjects
both of revenue and convict labor, but no law was passed in
regard to either except an appropriation to the northern peni-
tentiary of $136,000 to enable the trustees of that institution
to employ the prisoners as they might see proper.
A proceeding by this general assembly of extraordinary
interest, and for which there was no precedent, was the setting
aside of February 22 for a joint memorial service of both houses
in honor of "our deceased, distinguished citizens, Gen. John A.
920 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Logan and Judge David Davis." The ceremonies were impres-
sive and the addresses eloquent and interesting.
The legislature adjourned June 15, 1887.
The political events of the year 1888 were as follows: the
republican state-convention met at Springfield, May 2, and was
presided over by Congressman Lewis E. Payson.
The number of candidates for the various places to be filled
was larger than usual. The names of seven gentlemen were
presented by their friends who desired to see them occupy the
executive chair. These, with the number of votes received by
each on the first ballot, were as follows: Joseph W. Fifer 288,
John McNulta 136, Clark E. Carr 115, James A. Connolly 100,
John I. RinakergS, John C. Smith 58, Francis M. Wright 48. In
the succeeding ballots, the column of Fifer steadily grew larger
at the expense of all the other candidates about equally, Me
Nulta losing the least, when, upon the fifth ballot, he received
606 votes and with them the nomination.
Lyman B. Ray, of Morris, Grundy County, was nominated
for lieutenant - governor on the second ballot, his principal
opponents being William H. Collins of Quincy, and James S.
Cochran of Freeport. The most exciting contest was that for
the nomination of secretary of state between Senator Isaac N.
Pearson of Macomb, General Jasper N. Reece of Sangamon,
Speaker W. F. Calhoun of Dewitt, and Representative Thomas
C. McMillan of Chicago. They started in with about the same
number of votes each. Reece drew out on the third ballot,
leaving the others as follows: McMillan 317, Calhoun 267,
Pearson 252. McMillan gained strength from both of his com-
petitors on the next ballot but could not muster enough to
succeed. Cook County then decided to go to Pearson which
secured him the nomination on the next ballot. There were
ten candidates for the auditorship and it required six exciting
ballots to make the selection. On the fifth, all had dropped
out of the race except Pavey with 409 votes, Berggren 279,
Lewis 159. Pavey came out ahead on the next ballot. George
Hunt, as a candidate for reelection as attorney-general, had
almost no opposition and was nominated by acclamation; as
was Charles Becker for state treasurer.
The platform consisted, mainly, in an arraignment of the ad-
STATE CONVENTIONS OF 1 888. 92 1
ministration of President Cleveland for its violation of promises.
General Walter Q. Gresham was enthusiastically endorsed as
the favorite candidate of Illinois for the presidency.*
The democratic state-convention met at Springfield, May 23,
Gen Jesse J. Phillips in the chair. There was but little friction
among the delegates in agreeing upon a ticket, which was as
follows: John M, Palmer for governor; Andrew J. Bell, lieu-
tenant-governor; N. Douglas Ricks, secretary of state ; Andrew
Welch, auditor; Chas. H. Wacker, treasurer; Jacob R. Creigh-
ton, attorney-general.
The democrats were asking a good deal of Gen. Palmer to
make this race for them at the age of three score years and
ten; especially after a faithful service of fourteen years which
had only been rewarded by the empty honor of nominations to
offices to which he could not expect to be elected. His name
had, indeed, hardly been mentioned for a cabinet or other
important appointment, which it was in the power of his party
to give him under the Cleveland administration. Yet he will-
ingly accepted the place assigned him and made a most vigor-
ous campaign, coming out 2000 votes nearer success than Carter
H. Harrison had four years before.
The administration of Grover Cleveland was heartily endorsed
and he was thanked for the nomination of M'elville W. Fuller
of Illinois to the office of chief-justice of the supreme court of
the United States.f
* The list of delegates appointed to the national republican convention was as
follows: at large, Charles B. Farwell, George R. Davis, Horace S. Clark, William
F. L. Hadley. Districts, 1st, William J. Campbell, Eugene Gary; 2d, William E.
Kent, Henry Scherer; 3d, John A Roche, Leonard Swett; 4th, William Bolden-
weck, Canute R. Matson; 5th, Isaac L. Elwood, Homer Cook; 6th, Charles A.
Works, William Spenseley; 7th, Thomas E. Milchrist, Josiah Little; 8th, Henry
Mayo, L. E. Bennett; gth, James E. Morrow, John H. Jones; loth, Julius S. Starr,
Clarence E. Snively; nth, Benjamin F. Marsh, John M. Turnbull; 12th, William
L. Distin, Richard W. Mills; I3th, John A. Ayres, William Brown; I4th, James
Milliken, B. F. Funk; 1 5th, Frank K. Robinson, Charles P. Hitch; i6th, Thomas
W. Scott, D. B. Green; I7th, R. T. Higgins, Benson Wood; l8th, William A.
Haskill, Cicero J. Lindley; igth, Jasper Partridge, George C. Ross; 2Oth William
R. Brown, Edward E. Mitchell.
t The following is a list of the delegates to the democratic national convention : at
large, William R. Morrison, James S. Ewing, Nicholas E. Worthington, William
C. Goudy. Districts, 1st, William Fitzgerald, Thomas J. Gahan; 2d, Daniel
Corkery, George P. Bunker; 3d, Michael Ryan, John A. King; 4th, Francis A.
59
922 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The democratic national convention was held at St. Louis,
June 6, 1888. Grover Cleveland was renominated for president
with great unanimity and enthusiasm, and Allan G. Thurman
of Ohio, for vice-president. The platform consisted in the
making of a favorable contrast of the administration of Presi-
dent Cleveland with the policy of the republican party.
The republican national convention convened in Chicago,
June 20, continuing in session until the 25th. Gen. Benjamin
Harrison of Indiana, was nominated for president on the eighth
ballot. The following table of ballotings shows the names
of the principal candidates and the various changes which
occurred before the final result was reached:
CANDIDATES BALLOTS 1ST 2D 30 4TH 5TH 6TH 7TH 8TH
Benjamin Harrison, 85 93 94 217 213 231 278 544
John Sherman, - 229 249 244 235 224 244 231 118
Walter Q. Gresham, 109 108 123 98 87 91 91 59
Chauncey M. Depew, 99 99 91 withdrawn.
Russell A. Alger, - 84 116 122 135 142 137 115 100
William B. Allison, 72 75 88 88 99 72 76
Scattering, - 153 92 68 56 62 54 35 9
Levi P. Morton of New York, was nominated for vice-presi-
dent.
The election in this State resulted as follows:
FOR PRESIDENT FOR GOVERNOR
Benjamin Harrison, 370,473 Joseph W. Fifer, 367,860
Grover Cleveland, 348,378 John M. Palmer, 355,313
Clinton B. Fisk, prob'n, 21,695 David H. Harts, prob. 18,874
A. J. Streeter, labor, 7,090 Willis J. Jones, labor, 6,394
The vote on the other state-officers was about the same as
for president. Gov. Fifer fell behind Harrison in Cook County
2344 votes, running about even with him in the other counties;
Hoffman, jr., William M. Devine; 5th, Philip Scheckler, A. J. Denison; 6th, James
McNamara, John Lake; 7th, Caleb C. Johnson, Charles Dunham; 8th, P. C. Haley,
James Duncan; gih, James Smith, Z. E. Patrick; roth, Matthew Henneberry,
Forest Cook; nth, Quintin C. Ward, Delos P. Phelps; I2th, John Jones, J. M.
Bush; I3th, J. W. Patton, Don M. Maus; I4th, James T. Hoble.tt, Jas. P. Lillard;
I5th, H. S. Tanner, E. R. E. Kimbrough; i6th, James K. Dickinson, W. F.
Beck; lyth, T. B. Murphy, Thomas M. Thornton; i8th, A. S. Wilderman, W. E.
Wheeler; igth, W. S. Cantrell, T. E. Merritt; 2Oth, William H. Green, George W.
Hill.
RESULT OF THE ELECTION OF l888. 923
while Palmer ran ahead of Cleveland in Cook County 2969,
and in the other counties 3966, receiving in the State 6935 the
most votes. The greater part of this gain evidently came from
the prohibitionist and union- labor voters, their candidates for
governor falling nearly this much behind their nominees for
president.
Gov. Oglesby retired from a second term of four years' ser-
vice in the executive chair, January 14, 1889, and perhaps no
better commentary can be given of his administration than that
uttered by his successor in his inaugural address, as follows:
"For more than a third of a century, Richard J. Oglesby has
been prominent in the civic and military history of Illinois. In
all that time, no call of patriotic duty remained unheeded; no
cause, embracing the public weal, found him a laggard. In
wars, his heroic breast stood a bulwark between the great
republic and her enemies. To cement the Union of the fathers,
he shed his blood. As a member of the state and national
senate, and as governor of this Commonwealth to which
latter office, he received the rare compliment of three elections
he proved himself well able by wise statesmanship to pre-
serve in council, what his intrepid valor helped him to win in
the field. Strong in attachment to party and living in times of
partisan strife, his career yet exemplifies the maxim that 'He
serves his party best who serves his country best.' Retiring
voluntarily from the scenes of his public labors and triumphs,
he goes from us crowned with honors and followed by the grati-
tude and affection of his fellow-citizens."
CHAPTER XLVIII.
Administration of Gov. Fifer The Thirty -sixth General
Assembly Re-election of Cullom to the Senate Laws
The Drainage Commission Conventions of 1890
The World's Columbian Exposition Special Session
of the Legislature Laws Growth The Press
Literature.
JOSEPH WILSON FIFER, the governor elected in 1888,
I is of German descent, and was born in Stanton, Augusta
County, Virginia, October 28, 1840. His father was a brick-
and stone-mason, and also a farmer. The latter removed to
McLean County, Illinois, in 1857, where he purchased land,
which Joseph helped to improve, at the same time aiding him
in the manufacture and laying of brick. When the civil war
broke out, his youthful patriotism was aroused, and he enlisted
as a private in Company C, of the 33d Regiment of Illinois
Infantry, sometimes known as the Normal Regiment. In the
assault on Jackson, in 1863, a minie-ball passed entirely through
his body, inflicting a wound which was at first considered mortal.
He recovered slowly, and when again able to walk, returned
to his regiment despite the remonstrance of friends; and ren-
dered faithful and valiant service until the expiration of the
three years for which he had enlisted.
Up to this time, his only opportunities for an education had
been such as were offered by an attendance upon the common-
schools, which was rendered more or less intermittent owing
to the fact that his time was required to help the family
to a living. He had, however, saved a goodly proportion of his
meagre pay, and determined to devote this sum toward obtain-
ing an education, the need of which he more and more keenly
felt. Accordingly, he entered the Wesleyan University at Bloom-
ington, maintaining himself frugally by the labor of his hands, as
opportunity offered, where he remained until he was graduated
in 1868. The following year, after finishing his study of the
law with the firm of Prince and Bloomfield, he was admitted to
the bar. Success came to him as the reward of indomitable
924
Ofr IHt
of
GOVERNOR FIFER. 925
pluck, studious habits, close application to business, and un-
swerving integrity.
In 1871, he was elected corporation-counsel of Bloomington,
at that time, an important position, which he so ably filled, that,
in the following year, he received the almost unanimous nomi-
nation of the republicans of his county for state's attorney.
He served two terms of four years each in this office, and proved
himself one of the most efficient public prosecutors in the State.
It was in this office that he gained a high reputation as a criminal
lawyer, and prepared the way for his nomination to the state
senate which came to him by the general acclaim of his party.
A service of four years in the upper branch of the legislature
affords to a public man an excellent opportunity to show his
calibre. Fifer was a popular member and soon took rank with
the foremost of his compeers, serving on several of the most
important committees. It was now that his name began to be
mentioned in connection with the office of governor, and the
friends whom he made while senator were among his strongest
supporters. His nomination and election followed in due course
as heretofore related.
And thus was added one more name to that long list of
statesmen of whom Illinois is justly proud, who, through honest
toil and by their own unaided efforts, have lifted themselves
from the privations of the log- cabin to the highest state office
within the people's gift.
It had been charged against the republicans that in honoring
the soldiers of the late war with official preferment, they had been
careful to discriminate in favor of those who had gained not only
fame but rank; in the nomination of "Private Joe" however,
honor was conferred upon one who was "commissioned only
with the oath of allegiance," and who had worn neither sword
nor shoulder-straps carrying only the badge of that patriot-
ism, which, through three years of exposure, self- sacrifice, and
danger, nerved his arm to the service of his country in her days
of peril.
As a speaker, Governor Fifer is ready and effective. Having
first thoroughly mastered his subject, he depends upon the
inspiration of the moment for the arrangement and clothing of
his thoughts. Yet no opponent, who has felt the power of his
926 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
impassioned but well-turned periods, delivered with telling
intellectual vigor and force, covets a renewal of debate. He
still suffers from the effects of the well-nigh fatal wound in his
lungs, and it was feared that he would not be able to endure
the strain incident to a thorough canvass during the guberna-
torial campaign, but while he was compelled to husband his
strength, he was able to meet all his appointments and to satisfy
his friends.
The governor is nearly six feet in height, but spare and wiry
rather than muscular. He has a swarthy complexion, keen
eyes, and straight black hair, slightly tinged with gray. His
temperament is nervous, his movements quick, and his nature
frank and sympathetic. He was married in 1870 to Gertrude,
daughter of William J. Lewis, and has two children, a boy and
a girl.
Lyman Beecher Ray, of Grundy County, the lieutenant-
governor elected on the same ticket, is a native of Crittenden
County, Vermont; where he was born in August 17, 1831.
He has been a resident of Illinois since 1852, and has been
extensively engaged in mercantile pursuits. He has filled many
local offices and was elected in 1872 as a member of the lower
house of the twenty- eighth general assembly, when he was
chairman of the committee on mines and mining. In 1882, he
was chosen state senator, and served with marked distinction
during the sessions of 1883 and 1885. As a presiding officer,
his ability and popularity are unquestioned.
Isaac N. Pearson, secretary of state, was born in Centreville,
Pennsylvania, July 27, 1842. He has resided in Macomb, Mc-
Donough County, since 1858. He was elected circuit-clerk of
his county in 1872 and reflected in 1876. He subsequently
engaged in banking, and in the purchase and sale of real estate.
His later career, as a member of the legislature, has already
been mentioned.
Gen. C. W. Pavey, state auditor, was born at Hillsboro, Ohio,
in 1835. Coming to Illinois he became a farmer and stock-
raiser. He enlisted early in the late war and was very severely
wounded at the battle of Sand Mountain; he was taken prisoner
and was incarcerated two years and nine months in Libby
Prison. After being exchanged, he served as assistant inspec-
THIRTV- SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 927
tor-general at Rousseau's head -quarters at Nashville until the
close of the war. He was appointed collector of internal
revenue of the northern Illinois district by President Arthur.
Charles Becker, state treasurer, was born in Germany, June
14, 1840, and came with his parents to the United States in
1851. He was a soldier in the Twelfth Missouri Infantry,
and at the battle of Pea Ridge was so severely wounded in the
leg that amputation was necessary in order to save his life.
He was elected sheriff of his county, St. C lair, in 1866, and
circuit-clerk in 1872, and a second time in 1876. He has also
frequently served as a member of the city council of Belleville.
George Hunt, the attorney-general, chosen on the same ticket
and who now entered upon his second term, was born in Knox
County, Ohio, in 1841. He enlisted in Company E, of the I2th
Illinois Infantry, in July, 1861, as a private, reenlisted in the
same organization as a veteran and -came out at the close of
the war as its captain. As already noted, he served two terms
of four years each in the state senate from 1876 to 1884. As
a soldier, legislator, and lawyer, Attorney -General Hunt has
made a worthy record.
The thirty-sixth general assembly convened January 7, 1889.
The republicans had a greater preponderance in the senate
than ever before, and a larger majority on joint-ballot than at
any session since 1871.
The senators elect were Charles H. Crawford, reflected,
Thos. C. MacMillan, Horace H. Thomas,* all of Cook County;
Charles E. Fuller,* who had been a member of every general
assembly since the thirtieth, Boone; Benjamin F. Sheets, Ogle;
Robert H. Wiles, Stephenson; Henry H. Evans,* Kane, re-
elected; Conrad Secrest,* a member of the thirty- second and
thirty-third senates, Iroquois; Charles Bogardus,* Ford; Mar-
tin L. Newell, Woodford; Thomas Hamer,* Fulton; Orville F.
Berry, Hancock; Mark M. Bassett, Peoria; Thomas C. Kerrick,
McLean; Wilton W. Matthews, Champaign; Arthur A. Leeper,
Cass; Harry Higbee, Pike; Edward L. McDonald, Morgan;
Hiram P. Shum way,* Christian; F. E. W. Brink,* Washington;
Dios C. Hagle, Clay; James R. Campbell,* Hamilton; Joseph
W. Rickert, Monroe; David W. Karraker, Union; Charles A.
* Those marked with a * had previously served in the house.
928 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Griswold, Whiteside, successor to J. D. Crabtree, resigned; Wm.
J. Frisbee, Me Donough, as successor to Isaac N. Pearson, re-
signed; and Lewis J. Lehman, Coles, successor to T. L. Mc-
Grath, deceased. Theodore S. Chapman, of Jersey County,
was elected president pro tempore, and L. F. Watson, secre-
tary, for the third time.
In the house, there was a much larger proportion of members
who had previously served in one or more of the general assem-
blies than usual. Among these, were the following from Cook
County: George S. Baker, Francis A. Brokoski, Clayton E.
Crafts, George F. Ecton, James H. Farrell, John S. Ford, Thos.
G. Me Elligott, Joseph P. Mahoney, John Meyer, Stephen A.
Reynolds, and Peter A. Sundelius; also the following: Charles
A. Allen, Henry W. Allen, Benjamin H. Bradshaw, Richard
G. Breeden, Edgar S. Browne, Albert L. Converse, Orrin P.
Cooley, William W. Crawford, Robert H. Davis, John Eddy,
Hendrick V. Fisher, Hugh C. Gregg, the veteran Elijah M.
Haines, John M. Hart, Daniel D. Hunt, David Hunter, Wiley
E. Jones, James Kenney, Wm. H. Kretzinger, Perry Logsden,
Charles M. Lyon, William T. McCreery, Daniel Me Laughlin,
Samuel H. Martin, Asa C. Matthews, Thomas E. Merritt, James
H. Miller, Wm. Mooney, Anthony Morassy, Chas. A. Partridge,
George W. Pepoon, O. W. Pollard, Eugene Rice, William G.
Sloan, Ira Tyler, Albert W. Wells, and John W. White.
Among the new members, the names most frequently appear-
ing in the records of the proceedings were the following: Syl-
vester Allen, Scott County; James O. Anderson, Henderson;
Jonas T. Ball, Marshall; Eugene K. Blair, Morgan; William H.
Bowler, St.Clair; Jasmes N. Buchanan, Wm. Buckley, Quida J.
Chott, Jethro M. Getman, Samuel C. Hayes, Bushrod E. Hoppin,
Wm. E. Kent, Wm. H. Lyman, Jacob Miller, Jos. A. O'Donnell,
James F. Quinn, Edward C. Whitehead, William F. Wilk, and
Frank J. Wisner, all of Cook County; John S. Cochenour,
Richland; Isaac B. Craig, Coles; Sherwood Dixon, Lee; Edwin
A. Doolittle, Greene; James M. Fowler, Marion; James W.
Hunter, Knox; Elmore W. Hurst, Rock Island; Robert M.
Ireland, Kane; David P. Keller, Macon; Royal R. Lacey,
Hardin; Milton Lee, Vermilion; Andrew J. Lester, Sangamon;
John P. McClanahan, Warren; Andrew S. McDowell, Adams;
SPEAKER ASA C. MATTHEWS. 929
James P. McGee, Douglas; Thos. A. Marshall, Mercer; Samuel
H. Martin, White; Free P. Morris, Iroquois; Joseph C. Meyers
and Wm. H. Oglevee, DeWitt ; Daniel H. Paddock, Kankakee;
Frederick B. Phillips and Samuel C. Smiley, St. Clair; George
W. Prince, Knox; Thomas T. Ramey, Madison; David Ross,
LaSalle; Gardner S. Southworth, Me Henry; David R. Sparks,
Madison; Robert B. Stinson, Union; Michael Stoskopf, Stephen-
son; Henry L. Terpening, McLean; George R. Tilton, Vermil-
ion; Watson A. Towse, Macoupin; James P. Trench, LaSalle;
Pierson P. Updike, Montgomery; Frederick Wilke, Will;
Reuben W. Willett, Kendall* '
Colonel Asa C. Matthews of Pike County, who had been
unanimously endorsed by the republican caucus, was elected
speaker, receiving 79 votes to 71 for Clayton E. Crafts of
Chicago, the nominee of the democrats.
Colonel Matthews was born and raised on a farm in Pike
County. After attending the common schools,^ he was matricu-
lated at McKendree College, and later became a student at the
Illinois College, from which institution he was graduated in
1855. Having studied law with Hon. Milton Hay, who then
resided in Pittsfield, he was admitted to the bar in 1858. He
was building up a lucrative practice at the time of the outbreak
of the war, soon after which event he enlisted as a volunteer in
Company C, of the 99th Illinois Infantry, and was elected
captain. This was a fighting regiment as the list of casualties
shows. In that terrible assault of May 22, 1863, at Vicksburg,
out of 300 men engaged, 103 were either killed or wounded,
including all the field-officers, when the command devolved
upon Capt. Matthews. When the regiment was consolidated
into a battalion of five companies in 1864, he was commissioned
its lieutenant-colonel, and subsequently its colonel and as such
brought it home for muster out.
* Of the members, 33 were foreigners, 23 were born in New York, 10 in New
England, 25 Ohio, 70 Illinois, 10 Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and the remainder
in the West and South. There were 58 lawyers, 53 farmers, 26 merchants and deal-
ers, 10 editors and publishers, II belonging to professions other than the law, 10
mechanics and laborers, 9 insurance and real estate, and the remainder bankers,
capitalists, contractors, et cetera. Only one member was classed as a liquor -dealer,
although there were several, one of whom called himself a teamster.
t One of which was taught by the Author.
930 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
In 1869, Col. Matthews was appointed collector of internal
revenue for his district, the duties of which position he dis-
charged so satisfactorily that he was retained in office until
1875, when he was made supervisor of internal revenue, in
which capacity he rendered efficient service in the prosecution
of the Chicago whisky-ring. This position he resigned in 1876,
and was elected to the legislature, reflected in 1878, entering
now upon service in that body for the third term.
The colonel had not in the meantime neglected his law prac-
tice, and in 1886, a vacancy occurring on the bench of the cir-
cuit-court of the sixth district, his eminent fitness for the posi-
tion led to his appointment as judge by Gov. Hamilton. He
discharged the responsible and arduous duties of this high office
with distinguished fidelity.
Colonel Matthews is a speaker of no mean powers and is
frequently called upon in his district to take the stump. He
is rather under the medium size, but compactly built. His com-
plexion is dark and his manners are characterized by a frankness
and a geniality truly western. His former experience in the
general assembly, wherein he was a leading member, his famili-
arity with the rules, his sense of fairness, and his unvarying
good nature, all combine to make him a popular and effective
speaker.
His name was strongly urged upon President Harrison for the
position of commissioner of internal revenue. While there were
obstacles in the way of his appointment to that position, the
strength of his endorsements so impressed the mind of the
president that the latter named him first comptroller of the
United- States treasury. When the news of his appointment
reached the house, May 9, that body did the speaker the unusual
honor of taking a recess and publicly congratulating him, a pro-
ceeding in which leading democrats took part equally with the
republicans.*
Governor Fifer and the other state officers were inaugurated
January 14, 1889.
* Asa C. Matthews, son of Benjamin L. and Minerva Carrington Matthews,
was born near Perry, Pike County, Illinois, March 22, 1833. In 1858, he was
married to Anna, daughter of Col. William Ross of Pittsfield, who had been an
officer in the war of 1812, and whose name frequently appears in the early legislative
history of this State. He was a most estimable and leading citizen in his day.
CULLOM'S SECOND ELECTION TO THE SENATE. 931
In his address, the governor spoke upon the topics of the
ballot, the labor question, and education. "Political power,"
he said, "resides with the people, and is expressed only at the
ballot-box; therefore the man who refuses acquiescence com-
mits an offence of the same grade as he who seeks to .falsify
the result by corrupt methods at the polls. The consequences
of ordinary crimes are usually confined to a few victims, while
he who by any means robs the citizen of his constitutional
right of casting his one vote, and having that vote fairly counted
and its effect fairly registered in the declared result, violates the
fundamental principle of free government, corrupts and poisons
political authority in its very sources, and should receive speedy
and severe punishment." He recommended that the laws
relating to bribery be so amended that the giver should be held
equally guilty with the receiver.
On the subject of labor, as to which he advanced enlightened
and comprehensive views, he recommended such amendments to
existing laws as should secure the better protection of miners
and factory operatives, and provide an equitable method for the
arbitration of all controversies arising between employers and
employe's in regard to wages and hours of labor.
In respect to education, the governor recommended a more
thorough preparation, and a higher standard of attainments
for those intending to become teachers; and advised such a
change in the compulsory education law as might render it
more effective.
For the first time in the history of the State, a United-States
senator was reflected without a dissenting voice being raised
against him in caucus, and without leaving his seat in the senate
to make a canvass. This high honor came to Shelby M.
Cullom, whose first term would expire March 4. The election
was held in each house January 22 the nominee of the demo-
crats being once more Gen. John M. Palmer. Each candidate
received the full vote of his party. Senator Cullom telegraphed
his thanks from Washington.
Col. Matthews resigned the speakership on May 10, in order
to enter upon his new and broader field of duty. He was
succeeded by James H. Miller, of Stark County, a leading
member of the bar in his section of the State, whose judicial
932 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
mind and familiarity with the principles of parliamentary law
eminently qualified him for the position.
The thirty-sixth general assembly was a fairly industrious
and intelligent body, and consumed less time in its deliberations
than any of its predecessors under the new constitution except
the twenty-ninth. It was conspicuous for the large number of
bills which passed one house but failed in the other, some of
which were really meritorious, for instance: the measure estab-
lishing the jury-commission; that providing for the employment
of prison labor; and the pure -food bill.
714 bills were introduced in the house and 401 in the senate,
of which 159 became laws 48 of these relating to appropria-
tions, and most of the others being merely amendatory of
existing statutes.
The school-law was revised, and the perennially recurring sub-
jects of corporations, courts, elections, fish and game, insurance,
mines and mining, roads, highways and bridges, and township
organization, received due attention. He would, indeed, be
a rash legislator, who would venture to face his constituents
upon his return from Springfield and tell them that he had
neither said nor done anything in reference to these weighty
matters.
Among the most important new measures of legislation were
the following: the drainage law, being "an act to create sanitary
districts, and to remove obstructions in the Desplaines and
Illinois rivers; providing for the annexation of cities, incorpor-
ated towns and villages, or parts of same, to cities, incorporated
towns and villages; to regulate primary elections, repealing the
former law on the subject; to provide for pleasure driveways;
authorizing cities to convey real estate; prohibiting the em-
ployment of other than native born or naturalized citizens or
those who have declared their intention to become such, in the
public service; providing for the location, erection, and organi-
zation of an asylum for insane criminals; to suppress selling,
lending, giving away, or showing obscene and immoral news-
papers to minors; and a new law on compulsory education.
The drainage law was intended primarily for the benefit of
the city of Chicago, and contemplates the improvement of the
Desplaines and Illinois rivers, and the enlargement of a water-
(Ht LIBRARY
Of THE
OF OIKS
THE DRAINAGE COMMISSION. 933
way from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River. The act
ceding the locks and dams at Henry and Copperas Creek to the
United States was repealed, and provision made for their
removal "whenever the depth now available for navigation can
be secured and maintained by channel improvement without
the aid of dams." A joint-resolution was adopted requesting
the United States to aid in the construction of a channel not
less than 160 feet wide and 22 feet deep, with such grade as to
give a velocity of three miles per hour, from Chicago to Lake
Joliet, and to project a channel of similar capacity, and not less
than 14 feet deep from Lake Joliet to LaSalle.
The sanitary district of Chicago having been duly created
under the act, the following board of 9 trustees, to hold office
until the first Monday of December, 1896, was duly elected
on Dec. 12, 1889: John J. Altpeter, Dr. Arnold P. Gillmore,
Christopher Hotz, John A. King, Murry Nelson, Judge Richard
Prendergast, William H. Russell, Frank Wenter, and Henry J.
Willing. The board was organized by the election of the follow-
ing officers: Murry Nelson, president; Byron L. Smith, treas-
urer; Charles Bary, secretary; L. E. Cooley was appointed chief-
engineer; General George W. Smith, attorney; and Thomas F.
Judge, clerk.
The commission is limited in its expenditures to the sum of
$15,000,000. Preliminary surveys have already been made and
work begun.
Congress, having in obedience to a loudly expressed, popular
desire, determined to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary
of the discovery of America, by the holding of a great inter-
national exposition; and Chicago, after an exciting contest,
having been selected as the location for the same, it became
necessary to call a special session of the thirty-sixth general
assembly for the purpose of enacting certain measures which
the situation had rendered necessary. A petition, requesting
the same, having been forwarded to Gov. Fifer from the local
directory and the authorities of the city of Chicago, the governor
issued his call for the legislature to convene on July 24, 1890.
Four days before the assembling of the body, the speaker of the
house, James H. Miller, died at Manitou Springs, Colorado. Wm.
G. Cochran, of Moultrie County, was elected speaker, and Geo.
T. Buckingham, clerk, vice John A. Reeve, resigned.
934 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
A law was passed granting to the World's Columbian Expo-
sition the use and occupation of all the lands of the state of
Illinois within, or adjacent to Chicago, submerged or otherwise,
as a site, the use to continue one year after the close of the
exposition; also the use and employment of any public or park
grounds belonging to Chicago, said city consenting thereto;
and express authority was given to park commissioners, having
the control or management of public parks, to allow the use of
the same or any part thereof for the purposes of the exposition.
A joint-resolution was also adopted providing for the sub-
mission of an amendment to the constitution empowering the
city of Chicago, upon consent of a majority of the voters
therein, to issue interest- bearing bonds to the amount of
$5,000,000, the proceeds thereof to be paid to the managers of
the World's Columbian Exposition to be used and disbursed for
its benefit.
The special session adjourned August I.
The credit of originating this great enterprise seems to
belong to the Chicago Inter- State Exposition. As early as
Nov. 14, 1885, the following resolution, suggested by George
Mason, was introduced by Edwin Lee Brown, at a meeting of
the board of directors of that organization:
"Resolved, that it is the sense of this meeting that a great
World's Fair should be held in Chicago in the year 1892, the
four hundredth anniversary of the landing of Columbus in
America."
This resolution was referred to the executive committee, who,
recognizing the imperative necessity of the cooperation of the
business interests of Chicago, instructed its secretary, John P.
Reynolds, to lay the same before the Commercial Club for its
approval and endorsement. That influential body having its
attention occupied in securing a site for Fort Sheridan, at the
time, no action was then taken. But the subject was not per-
mitted to drop out of discussion, and at a meeting of the
Iroquois Club on May i, 1888, on motion of Judge Henry M.
Shepard, a conference was invited between that club, and the
Union League, Commercial, University, Illinois, Kenwood, and
Standard clubs of the city, at which, on July 6, a resolution was
adopted favoring organization and the taking of action to secure
THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION. 935
"the location of an international celebration of the four hun-
dredth anniversary of the discovery of America by Columbus,
at Chicago."
Although the movement was thus fairly inaugurated, no
organized action was taken until July of the following year,
when, under direction of the city council, the mayor, DeWitt
Clinton Cregier, appointed a committee of 100, which was
afterward increased to 250, who were charged with the duty of
using "all honorable means" to secure the World's Fair for
Chicago.
A location for active operations was obtained, a corporation
was formed with a capital of $5,000,000, afterward doubled, and
the country generally flooded with carefully -prepared reasons
why the proposed celebration should be held in Chicago.
Head-quarters were opened in Washington in September, and
on December 19, Senator Cullom introduced a bill providing
for the necessary legislation by congress. This was referred to
a committee, and the name of the particular locality at which
the fair should be held having been left blank, to be filled in
after hearing and weighing the inducements and arguments
offered by competing points, Chicago, New York, Washington,
and St. Louis all being bidders for the prize. The spirited con-
test which followed attracted the attention of the entire Nation,
and wassettled in the house of representatives on Feb. 14, 1890.
Eight ballots were taken, Chicago and New York gaining in each
at the expense of Washington and St. Louis, the final result
being Chicago 157, New York 107, St. Louis 25, and Washington
1 8, the Illinois metropolis receiving a majority of 7 votes.
The bill providing for the exposition passed the house April
11, the senate April 21, and became a law by the signature of
the president, Benjamin Harrison, April 25, 1890.
The law provided for the appointment by the president of
two commissioners and alternates from each state and eight
commissioners at large. Those from Illinois are: Adiai T.
Ewing of Chicago, Charles H. Deere of Moline, and their
alternates Lafayette Funk of Me Lean County, and Dewit W.
Smith of Springfield. The commission was organized June
27, 1890, with Thomas W. Palmer of Michigan as president,
and John T. Dickinson of Texas as secretary. George IL
936 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Davis of Chicago, upon the recommendation of the local
directors, was elected director-general.
The corporation organized under the laws of the state of
Illinois, upon which largely devolves the local management and
control of the exposition, the selection of a site, and the erec-
tion of buildings, is governed by a board of forty- five direc-
tors, which organized with the following officers: Lyman J.
Gage president, Thomas B. Bryan first vice-president, Potter
Palmer second vice-president, Benjamin Butterworth secretary,
Anthony F. Seeberger treasurer, and William K. Ackerman
auditor.
Each section of the city presented its claims, and the task of
making a selection from the many eligible locations offered
was one which required not only sound judgment but also rare
tact. After carefully weighing the respective merits of all the
sites tendered, the choice of the directors finally rested upon
that which seemed to combine the essentially desirable elements
of ample room and easy access. They chose a portion of the
Lake -Front and Jackson Park, where the principal buildings
will be located, and the tract known as the Midway Plaisance.
Preparations for the biennial political campaign were inaugu-
rated in 1890 much earlier than usual. The democrats led off
with their state convention, which was held at Springfield,
June 3, Hon. Joseph B. Mann of Danville in the chair. Judge
Edward S. Wilson of Richland County was nominated for state
treasurer, receiving a majority of votes over William Fitzgerald
of Chicago; and Henry Raab of St. Clair County, who had
formerly occupied the same position, was named by acclamation
the candidate for state superintendent of public instruction.
A departure from the usual course was made in the nomina-
tion by a state convention of a candidate for the United-States
senate. Gen. John M. Palmer, who had been repeatedly there-
tofore the nominee of his party in the legislative caucus,
received this distinction. To invest this action with an air of
consistency, a resolution was incorporated in the platform favor-
ing the election of United-States senator by a direct vote of
the people. Other new planks were as follows: favoring a
change in the compulsory school - law ; in favor of the
Australian ballot system; requiring the state treasurer to pay
THE ELECTION OF 1890. 937
to the State all interest received on deposits; and in favor of
the preparation and publishing of school-books and furnishing
them to the children at cost.
The republican state-convention met at the same place, June
24. Ex-Senator Horace S. Clark of Coles County was elected
temporary, and Gen. John Me Nulta of Me Lean permanent,
president. Two ballots were had for state treasurer, resulting
in the nomination of Franz Amberg of Chicago, the other
principal candidates being Senator Conrad Secrest of Iroquois
County, and Judge Cicero J. Lindley of Bond. Dr. Richard
Edwards, the then incumbent, was, without opposition, nomi-
nated for superintendent of public instruction.
The platform adopted agreed with that of the democrats in
declaring in favor of the Australian ballot system, and in amend-
ing the compulsory school-law, and reaffirmed the principles of
the national republican convention of 1888. Strong resolutions
were also adopted in favor of the rights of the workingman.
The democrats, for the first time in 27 years, succeeded in
electing their state ticket; the state treasurer by a majority of
9847 and the superintendent of public instruction by 34,042.
The causes which led to this result have been variously
attributed to the passage by a republican congress of the so-
called McKinley tariff bill, the agitation of the compulsory
education law, and general dissatisfaction with the national
administration. It was certainly presuming a great deal upon
the power of party organization to precipitate an issue of
so great importance as an entirely new tariff- law upon the
people, with only a three-weeks' canvass in which to counteract
the unfavorable impressions created against it by the opposition.
Whether true or not, the argument that it would induce high
prices so industriously circulated against it, both during the
pendency of the bill and after its passage, had their undoubted
effect. But whether it was unwise tariff legislation, the adverse
vote of many republican farmers, the indifference of others, or
the revolt of a portion of the German republicans as shown in
the vote against Edwards, the party suffered a still more disas-
trous reverse than in 1874, not only in Illinois, but throughout
the country.
But although successful on the popular vote, the democrats,
60
I
938 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL,
notwithstanding they elected their candidates in all of the close
and doubtful senatorial districts carried by the republicans in
1886, failed to secure a majority of the legislature; the senate
standing 27 republicans and 24 democrats; the house 73 repub-
licans, 77 democrats, and three third-party members, candidates
elected by the Farmers' Mutual Benevolent Alliance the demo-
crats lacking two of a majority on joint-ballot, and the farmers
holding the balance of power.*
The close of this History before the results of the eleventh
census have been compiled and published must necessarily
curtail those comparisons and contrasts of relative growth and
improvements which the reader will be enabled, more satisfac-
torily, to make for himself when the data for the same shall
have been brought more fully to light by the press. Enough,
however, is already known to justify the statement that the
hopes of the citizens of Illinois have been abundantly realized,
and that the march of the Prairie State, in all those respects
which go to make a commonwealth great and powerful, has
been no less steadily onward and upward during the last decade
than through the years which preceded it.
While the population of the Nation, as fixed by the last
census, 62,622,250, is less than was generally anticipated, that
of Illinois, reaching 3,818,536, has shown a greater relative
increase in the last ten years 24.6 per cent than from 1870
to 1880 2 1. 1 8. She has grown faster, relatively, than New
York or Pennsylvania; and has finally succeeded in outstrip-
ing Ohio in the race for the position of the third State in the
American Union.
Chicago, her wonderful metropolis, by the legitimate annexa-
tion of the suburban cities and towns of Lake View, Hyde
Park, Lake, Jefferson, and Cicero, aggregating 128 square miles,
and embracing a population of 225,000, is now a city of 1,099,-
133 inhabitants, having passed Philadelphia, her only rival, and
ranking as the second city in the country.
Illinois' other chief cities have also shown a greater increase
from 1880 to 1890 than during the previous ten years, as may
be seen by the following comparison of the population of cities
of 10,000 inhabitants and over for 1870, 1880, and 1890:
* For list of members, see page 1163.
GROWTH OF ILLINOIS.
939
COMPARISON OF ILLINOIS' CITIES OF 10,000:
NAME COUNTY
Alton, - Madison,
Aurora, Kane,
Belleville, St. Clair,
Bloomington, McLean,
Cairo, - Alexander,
Chicago, - Cook,
Danville, Vermilion,
Decatur, - Macon,
E. St. Louis, St. Clair,
Elgin, - Kane,
Freeport, Stephenson,
Galesburg, - Knox,
Jacksonville, Morgan,
Joliet, - Will,
Kankakee, Kankakee,
La Salle, - La Salle,
Moline, Rock Island,
Ottawa, - La Salle,
Peoria, - Peoria,
Quincy, - Adams,
Rockford, Winnebago,
Rock Island, Rock Isl.,
Springfield, Sangamon,
Indeed, the increased growth of the State is mainly confined
to her principal centres of population, 35 of the best agricultural
counties showing a falling off in the number of inhabitants.
This fact may be accounted for in various ways; many of those
bred to the soil have emigrated toward the setting sun, influenced
by the prospect of cheaper lands, taking with them the wives of
their youth, there to build themselves homes in a new country,
as did their fathers before them. Others, not content with the
moderate enjoyments and gains derived from country and
village homes, and attracted by the allurements of a city life
with its constant whirl of excitement and its glittering promise
of easily acquired wealth, have been drawn into the maelstrom
of trade, manufactures, or the professions, the greater portion
1870
1880
1890
8,665
* 8,975
10,294
II,l62
n,873
19,688
8,146
10,683
15,361
14,590
17,180
20,484
6,267
9,011
10,324
298,977
503,185
1,099,850
4,751
7,733
11,491
7,161
9-547
16,841
5,644
9,185
15,169
5-441
8,787
17,823
7,889
8,516
10,189
10,158
11,437
15,264
9,203
10,927
12,935
7,263
11,657
23,264
f\ r\')
7,847
9,025
9,855
4,166
7,800
12,000
7,73 6
7,834
9,985
22,849
29,259
41,024
24,052
27,268
31,494
11,049
13,129
23,584
7,890
11,659
13,634
17,364
19,743
24,963
940 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
of whom, it is grievous to reflect, doomed to disappointment
and utter failure, will swell the already -increasing ranks of the
unfortunate, the unsuccessful, or the criminal classes.
Gratifying in most respects as has been the growth of the
large cities of Illinois, that of her imperial metropolis by Lake
Michigan has been the marvel of the world; and it is to its
unprecedented expansion that Illinois owes her proud position
of third in rank among the forty- four sovereign states of the
Union.
The original plat of Chicago only 60 years old on August
4, 1890 covered less than half a square mile. In 1835, with a
population of 3265, it had grown to 2.55 square miles. When
the city was incorporated, March 4, 1837, its area aggregated
II square miles, and it could boast of 4179 inhabitants.
Subsequent accessions, between the last- mentioned date and
June i, 1889, increased its area to 44 square miles. The sub-
urban districts, amounting to 128 square miles, were then
annexed making a total city area of 172.24 square miles,
extending 24 miles north and south, and from 4^ to 10%
miles east and west. While Chicago has not yet overtaken the
other great cities of the world, numerically, she embraces a
larger area than Berlin which has only 25 square miles, than
Paris with 30, New York with 413^. or London with 123.
From 1876 to 1889, there were erected in the city 37,042
buildings, at a cost of $176,460,779, and covering a frontage of
172 miles. During the year 1890, not yet expired, 10,947
buildings, with a frontage of 48 miles, have been erected, the
cost of construction being $47,407,149.
There are 2040 miles of sidewalk in the city, of which 286
were laid the past year. The total number of miles of streets
is 2047, of which 578 are improved.*
The area of her magnificent parks is 1974 acres.
Thirty-four different railroad lines, controlling over 30,000 miles
of road, enter the city with a trackage therein of 1090 miles; and
the number of passenger- trains, which arrive and depart daily,
is 960, as against 260 in 1880 thus constituting Chicago the
greatest railway center on the continent.
* For these figures, the Author is chiefly indebted to the report for 1889, of Geo.
F. Stone, secretary of the Board of Trade.
^//V5
/0HN'
3?
(Ht HHRARY
Of (HE
, MVEMIIV itfll
GROWTH OF CHICAGO. 941
Other comparisons, between 1880 and 1890, may be made as
follows :
1880 1890 1880 1890
Public schools, 73 207 Theatres, 10 24
Public-school teachers, 869 2800 Hotels, 140 267
Banks, - 37 79 Steam fire-engines, 34 69
Fire dep't, employes, 369 917 Police, employes, 473 1870
Street railroads, miles, 140 387 Churches, 187 317
The receipts of grain, flour, and provisions in 1889, were
largely in excess of those of 1888; and the receipts of live-
stock during the same year, valued at $203,331,924, was the
highest in valuation of like receipts ever recorded.
The number of cattle received for the year ending October
i, 1890, was 3,563,000, and of hogs 7,265,000 in both cases
breaking all former records; and the Union Stock- Yards is the
largest live-stock market in the world.
Receipts also of meats, lard, butter, and hides, during this
period, reached their maximum, while those of coal were much
larger than in 1880.
Chicago is, also, the largest lumber market on the continent,
over $80,000,000 being invested in the business, and a dock
frontage of 12 miles being required along which to handle the
product.
The manufactures of the city have arisen to a stupendous
figure, as shown by the fact that in 1889 there were 3100 differ-
ent firms or establishments, having an aggregate capital of over
$134,000,000, employing 150,000 hands, who received as wages
$84,500,000, and the total product of whose business was valued
at over $450,000,000.*
The total assessed valuation of property, real and personal,
in the city for 1879, was $117,970,035, and the tax levied $3,-
776,220; the valuation, in 1889, was $201,104,019, and the tax
$6,326,651.
The bonded city-debt, $13,606,900, remains about the same
as it was in 1872.
Turning from these grand aggregates, the small space left to
this review will be given to the business of a few leading firms:
The firm of Armour and Company, of which Philip D.
* Chicago Tribune's review, January I, 1890.
942 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Armour is the head, made sales, for the year ending October I,
1890, amounting to the sum of $65,000,000. They slaughtered
1,450,000 hogs, 650,000 cattle, and 350,000 sheep. 7000 hands
receive employment, to whom are paid as wages $3,500,000 per
annum. Their buildings cover 50 acres, with a floor area of
140 acres. The statement of these facts suggests its own com-
ment.
The dry -goods houses of Marshall Field and Company,
wholesale and retail, do a business of over $30,000,000 per
annum. Their granite building, erected for their wholesale trade
at a cost of over $1,000,000, exclusive of the ground, is the finest
structure of the kind in this or any other country. Their retail
store, splendid and palatial in all of its appointments, employs
2000 hands, while 1500 are engaged in manufacturing.
The wholesale dry-goods firm of John V. Farwell and Com-
pany, established in 1855 and the oldest in the city, does a
business amounting to $23,000,000 a year and employs 1400
hands.
The business of these two houses of princely merchants is
not exceeded in New York or Philadelphia, and being large
importers, they are as well known in London, Paris, and Berlin,
as in Chicago.
The firm of D. B. Fisk and Company, wholesale dealers in
millinery and straw goods, established in 1853, and the first
west of the Alleghanies, is the largest of its kind in the world.
They import extensively, employ 500 hands, and sell to the
amount of $2,000,000 a year.
The Tobey Furniture Company, the largest retail furniture
establishment in the West, if not in the United States, has
customers from and ship its goods to 29 different states, includ-
ing the cities of New York and even to London.
Perhaps the most important, widely known, as well as ex-
tensive manufacturing concern, is that of the McCormick Har-
vesting Machine Company, of which Cyrus Hall McCormick, jr.
is the president. Established here in 1848, and now located
on the south branch of the Chicago River, with a fourth of a
mile of dockage, it has steadily grown up to the present time.
The number of machines manufactured, during the past season
was 120,000, including harvesters, binders, reapers, and mowers,
GROWTH OF CHICAGO. 943
and the number of hands employed at the works is 2000. Their
books show that 10,782 cars of freight were handled during the
season ending August I, 1890.
The soap manufactory of Jas. S. Kirk and Company, estab-
lished in Utica, New York, in 1839, and removed to Chicago
in 1859, and now conducted by the seven sons of the founder,*
is also the largest in the world. They have over 800 employes,
and sell their products soap, perfumes, and glycerine through-
out America. Their annual production of soap is over 70,000,-
ooo pounds.*!*
Chicago is also passing to the front in the business of pub-
lishing, especially in the printing of books sold only by sub-
scription, and text-books, globes, and novelties, for public and
higher schools. The firms of S. C. Griggs and Company, estab-
lished in 1848, and publishers of Ford's "History of .Illinois," in
1853; an d the Fergus Printing Company, established in 1840
by Robert Fergus, publishers of the noted "Fergus Historical
Series," are still, Jan. I, 1891, engaged in business. The leading
firms at present are Alexander C. McClurg and Company, and
Rand, McNally and Company; the former is also the largest
book and stationery house in the United States, and through
its senior member, Gen. McClurg, himself a writer of no mean
ability, has done much to encourage and promote home talent.
* James Smith Kirk died South Evanston, Illinois, June 16, 1886, aged 68; bom
Glasgow, Scotland, September u, 1818.
t In view of these figures, it will be interesting to turn to a picture of the city by
Governor John Reynolds in his work entitled "Sketches of the Country," published
at Belleville, in 1854. After speaking of its growth from 1840 to 1853, from a popu-
lation of 4479 to 60,652, he remarks: "All the elements of greatness and grandeur
of Chicago are in progress, and will ultimately produce the result as above stated:
that the Garden City will be one amongst the greatest emporiums in the Union. *
Within this city, there are 159 miles of planked sidewalks, and 27 of planked streets.
And also the young city can boast of four miles of wharfs, and six miles of sewers
already put down. * * Omnibuses, with all other improvements, have found their
way into the city, 18 are in daily operation, and make 408 trips in the day. The
whole omnibus corps travel in a day 802 miles.
"Gas is used in this city to a great amount, and a company is organized with a
capital of $207,400 to furnish it. This is another evidence," remarks the quaint old
governor, "that the people of Chicago prefer light to darkness. Five miles and 2978
feet of large gas-pipes have been laid under ground in this city the last year, and the
total of the smaller pipes laid throughout the city is 13 miles and 638 feet. * *
[Pages 129-30.]
944 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
Illinois, which was the seventh in 1880, now ranks as the
fourth in her iron -and -steel industries, and is only surpassed
by Pennsylvania in the production of Bessamer steel.
The first place among the influences which have been at work
to produce these great results in Illinois must be conceded to
the press, which has stimulated the enterprise, quickened the
energies, and encouraged the ambition of her citizens. Their
determination to reach the front has been kept steadily in view,
and every hindering cause deprecated. No city, indeed, in the
Union can boast a more able and aggressive daily press than
that of Chicago; while the management of her weekly papers,
in their several religious, commercial, and literary departments,
is equally distinguished. The growth of journalism in Illinois
has kept, indeed, more than fully abreast of the State's develop-
ment, the press having formed one of the chief factors and
exponents of its expansion.
The five papers all weekly in 1824, which had increased
to 14 in 1834, had grown to 107 in 1850, including several
dailies. In 1870, the number had risen to 505, embracing
periodicals; and, in 1880, it had grown to 900; and, in 1890, to
1 200 of these, 300 are classed as republican in politics, 170 as
"Ninety- two trains enter and leave the city each day except Sunday. There are
more than 1000 miles of railroad now completed in this State, almost all of which
have their termini in this city. [Page 121.]
"The assessed real and personal property for Chicago, for 1853, was $16,841,831,
and the city tax $135,662.
" Like all the branches of industry in the West, the manufactories of Chicago are
advancing with astonishing rapidity. * Why can not this city become as famous for
its manufactures as it is already for its extraordinary commerce?"
The governor describes several manufacturing establishments, and among them, he
says, "Charles Cleaver, on the lake, south of the city, does a 'bully business,' manu-
facturing candles and soap. He imported last year 350 tons of rosin and soda.
"McCormick alone, the last year, manufactured 1500 reapers and sold them at
$130 each, amounting in all to $195,000.
"The receipts of flour last year were 131,130 barrels, being 7000 more than in
1852. Wheat received was 1,687,465 bushels, corn 2,869,339 bushels. Lumber,
212,111,198 feet." [Page 142.]
The governor remarks, on page 120, with prophetic vision, "And I deem it not a
wild prediction to say, when the West contains 20,000,000 of inhabitants, Chicago
will then embrace 1,000,000 of souls within her limits."
If the governor could have beheld the gigantic strides which the Garden City was
destined to make from that time to the present, his vocabulary of adjectives would
have been exhausted.
THE PRESS. 945
democratic, and 335 as independent. The remainder are devoted
to commerce, literature, the professions, or are the organs of
churches or special societies. One fourth of the entire number
are published in Chicago.
The oldest paper is the State Journal at Springfield, estab-
lished in 1831 the Jacksonville Journal having been founded
about the same time. These, with the Galena Gazette issued in
1834 the State Register first published at Vandalia in 18.35 by
William Walters, and removed with the capital to Springfield
in 1839, and the Alton Telegraph established by Richard M.
Treadway and Lawson A. Parks in 1836, have all been uninter-
ruptedly published to the present time.
The State Journal is organized with Clarence R. Paul as
president and editor-in-chief, and Harry F. Dorwin as secre-
tary and business manager. Henry W. Clendenin is president
and general manager of the Register Company, and Thomas
Rees, treasurer.
Among those associated with the early press in central Illinois
who stand out prominently in that connection and who have
achieved more than a local fame, not heretofore mentioned in
that connection, are Hooper Warren, Rev. John M. Peck, John
Bailhache, Robert Blackwell, Robert Goudy, George T. Brown,
Charles H. Lanphier, George Walker, Edward L. Baker, Wm.
H. Bailhache, John G. Nicolay, John W. Merritt, Edward L.
Mefritt, David L. Phillips, Thomas W. S. Kidd, Enoch Emery,
John H. Oberly, and the veteran, Paul Selby, who has been
continuously identified with the press as an editorial writer for
nearly forty years.
The earliest paper published in Chicago was the Chic'igo
Democrat, the first number of which bears the date of November
2 3 J 833- Its founder and proprietor was John Calhoun, a
native of New York. In 1836, he sold the paper to John Went-
worth, whose name thenceforward became identified with Illinois
journalism in all that tended to make it progressive and inde-
pendent, who continued it until July 27, 1861, when he trans-
ferred the subscription list to the Tribune.
The Chicago American, established June 8, 1835, by Thomas
O. Davis, was the second paper in Chicago and the first paper
in the State to issue a daily edition, which it did on April 9,
946 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
1839, being then edited by Wm. Stuart of Binghamton, New
York. The American was succeeded October 24, 1842, by the
Chicago Express, William H. Brackett editor and proprietor,
continuing until April 20, 1844; when on April 22, 1844, the
first number of the Chicago Daily Journal was issued, of which
paper Richard L. Wilson was editor. About 1852, it became
an evening paper. The Chicago Evening Journal was incorpor-
ated July, 1873, by Charles L. Wilson, Henry W. Farrar, and
John R. Wilson. Charles L. Wilson died March 9, 1878, two
years later, the paper was leased to Shuman and Wilson, and
eighteen months later John R. Wilson bought the controlling
interest. Gov. Shuman retired from the editorial management
about two years before his death.
The Chicago Commercial Advertiser, weekly, was established
Oct. II, 1836, by Hooper Warren; and lived about one yearX
The Tribune, the first newspaper of this name in America,
appeared in Chicago April 4, 1840. Edward George Ryan,
subsequently chief- justice of Wisconsin, was the editor while it
existed about eighteen months.
The Quid Nunc, the first penny daily west of the Alleghanies,
was commenced July 5, 1842, by Ellis and Fergus, printers and
publishers; David S. Griswold, editor; and was issued only a
short time.
The Democratic Advocate and Co-mmercial Advertiser, weekly,
commenced February 3, 1844, by Ellis and Fergus, printers and
publishers; editor, James Curtiss mayor of Chicago in 1847.
It ceased to exist January, 1846.
On May 20, 1844, appeared the first number of the Gem of
the Prairie, weekly, of which Kiler Kent Jones and Jas. Sterling
Beach were the editors and proprietors.
The Chicago Tribune, reviving the name which had first
appeared in Chicago in 1840, was established July 10, 1847, by
James Kelly, Joseph K. C. Forrest, and John E. Wheeler. The
Gem, after several changes, was purchased by and for a time
was the weekly edition of the Tribune. The Tribune was the
first paper to arrange, on December 6, 1849, for the daily
receipt and publication of telegraphic dispatches. Joseph
Medill from Cleveland, Ohio, became a part proprietor in
June, 1855, and Dr. Charles H. Ray and Alfred Cowles in
CHICAGO DAILIES. 947
July, 1855. The Democratic Argus, daily and weekly, estab-
lished August 12, 1850, by S. D. McDonald and Company
the company being Judge Ebenezer Peck, was sold to John
Locke Scripps from Rushville, Illinois, and William Bross, and
on September 16, 1852, they issued the first number of the
Democratic Press, which was consolidated with the Tribune in
1858, and for a time was called the Press and Tribune. This
union brought together what was undoubtedly the ablest corps
of editorial writers and managers, at that time, or since, com-
bined on any single paper in the country. Of these, Joseph
Medill, the editor and principal owner of the Tribune, and still
wielding the pen of a master, alone survives.
The dates of the establishment of other leading daily papers
now existing in Chicago, with the names of their founders and
proprietors, are as follows:
The Illinois Staats Zeitung, the most influential German paper
in the Northwest, was established in April, 1848, by Robert B.
Hoeffgen, Arno Voss being the editor. It was at first issued
as a weekly paper, and changed to a daily upon the assumption
of the editorial management by George Schneider in 1851. In
1861, Lorenz Brentano became owner of the paper, who sold
an interest therein to Anton C. Hesing in 1862. Hesing
became sole proprietor in 1867, and retained the chief manage-
ment and control until it was transferred to his son, Washington
Hesing, who is still at its head.
The Chicago Times was founded, Aug. 20, 1854, by James W.
Sheahan, Isaac Cook, and Daniel Cameron. In 1861, Wilbur F.
Storey became the principal owner and manager, and so con-
tinued until his death in 1884. Since that date, the paper has
passed through various vicissitudes previous to the present man-
agement's obtaining control.
The Inter Ocean, which succeeded to the press-franchises and
patronage of the Chicago Republican, was established, in 1872,
by J. Young Scammon; Wm. Penn Nixon was its first general
manager, assisted in the editorial department by E. W. Halford
and Gilbert A. Pierce. Frank W. Palmer became its principal
editor in 1873. A reorganization of the directory was effected
in 1875, when Dr. Oliver W. Nixon was elected president and
William Penn Nixon controlling manager, and they remain at
the head of the paper to the present time.
948 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The.Neue Freie Presse, an independent German daily, pub-
lished morning and evening, was established in 1871.
The Chicago Daily Neivs was founded by Melville E. Stone,
Dec. 25, 1875; Victor F. Lawson became controlling owner and
business manager the following year. Stone continued to be
the editor-in-chief until 1888, when he transferred his interest
to Lawson, who is now the sole proprietor. The paper com-
prises two distinct publications, the Morning News and the
Evening News, each with its own editorial staff, and the two
papers combined issue eight different editions daily.
The Chicago Herald was established in May 10, 1881, by the
Chicago Herald Company Frank W. Palmer, James W. Scott,
A. M. Jones, and Daniel Shepard as a stalwart-republican
paper, with Frank W. Palmer as editor, and James W. Scott,
secretary and treasurer, and business manager. It was the
successor of the Daily Telegraph, founded in 1878, and managed
by William T. Collins, formerly of Winchester, Illinois. In
the spring of 1883, John R. Walsh bought the controlling
interest in the company, when Martin J. Russell became the
editor, who was succeeded in 1887 by Horatio W. Seymour.
The paper now is democratic, owned by Walsh and Scott alone.
The Chicago Evening' Post, controlled by John R. Walsh and
Jas. W. Scott, who own the stock, was established May I, 1890.
The evening papers of the city, besides the Journal, News,
and Post, are the Mail, and the Globe.
Notwithstanding the giant strides taken by Illinois in material
progress in commerce, agriculture, and manufactures; despite
her advance in education; and although the influence of her
voice in the national councils has grown until her delegates in
both houses of congress stand in the foremost rank, it must,
nevertheless, be admitted that in the world of letters she has
by no means overtaken the older commonwealths of the East.
During the war, her troops were among the most valiant, her
generals notably "the old commander," the most renowned;
in the learned professions not a few of her sons have attained
national, and some of them world- wide fame; in the money
markets of two continents, her credit stands unquestioned and
unassailable; yet she has given to the world no author of com-
manding influence and few of national reputation.
f<fl4RY
Itil
ILLINOIS AUTHORS. 949
Various causes may be assigned for the existence of this fact.
In every new community, the brain power is necessarily exer-
cised in the direction of the accomplishment of material, as
contradistinguished from intellectual, results. The first struggle
of a new state, as of man, is for subsistence; its next for com-
petence. Not until these two ends have been attained, does
the mind turn toward less utilitarian fields in which talent, as
well as genius, seeks to find vent. In a community recently
formed, where a bare existence is the "chief end of man," mere
thinkers, whose thought turns itself toward no present practical
result, are, not unjustly, regarded as dreamers and drones.
And as population grows and wealth increases, thought finds a
more remunerative market in the fields of practical research than
in those of abstract speculation, on the one hand, or of imagi-
native flights on the other. In other words in a fresh settle-
ment, the plough is worth more than the pen; in a young city,
the expert accountant rises to prosperity, while the savant
starves in a garret.
Yet, even in the early history of the State, there were not
wanting men like James Hall, whose Illinois MontJily Magazine
compared favorably, in point of painstaking research, of variety
of matter, and of grace of diction, with similar magazines in
older and better settled localities. To the name of Judge Hall,
in addition to other writers already mentioned, may be added
that of John L. Me Connel, a native of Jacksonville, Illinois,
whose series of novels and sketches, especially his "Western
Characters or Types of Border Life," published in 1850-3,
attracted wide attention, and were favorably received by the
critics.
It may be asserted, however, without successful controversion
that, even in these later days, no western writer not connected
more or less closely with journalism, has been able to earn a
livelihood by his pen. No Illinois author, certainly, has ever
received from a single work, any financial return adequate to
the time, research, thought, and labor involved in its prepara-
tion. It is true that certain books of ephemeral reputation and
doubtful value have made fortunes for their publishers, but the
fact remains that Illinois has produced but few works which
may properly classed in the category of standard literature.
950 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
The general reading public of the West is not yet sufficiently
and keenly alive to the value of literary works of high merit.
The sense of discrimination is lacking. Over and over again,
the imprimatur of a well-known publishing house serves, like
charity, to "cover a multitude of [literary] sins." Even period-
ical literature languishes in the West, if it be of local origin.
The "great magazines" are able to "point with pride" to the
vast proportions of their subscription lists in Chicago alone.
Yet the encouragement held out to writers, who are peculiarly
identified with local and home production, is of the most languid
and half-hearted sort.
Illinois, however, is not without men of letters, whose con-
tributions would adorn any periodical in the land. These
writers, nevertheless, find themselves compelled, as a rule, to
seek a market for the product of their pens in eastern cities
rather than in the metropolis of their own State. Why should
not Chicago and its tributary territory afford support to a dis-
tinctively literary journal of the highest order of excellence?
The legal and medical professions have their journals, which
command the attention of the entire country. The weekly
issues of the religious press rank with the best publications of
that description in the land. Trade-journalism finds there some
of the best and most widely-circulated exponents of commercial
interests. Why should not the guild of authors "go and do
likewise?"
Among distinctively Illinois authors, whose works have found
a permanent and honored place in literature, may be mentioned,
as the oldest in the field of historical research, next to Judge
James Hall and John M. Peck, the name of Henry Brown, who
wrote the first history of the State in 1844. Perhaps the fore-
most name of those who followed him is that of Isaac Newton
Arnold, whose "Life of Lincoln," "Lincoln and Slavery," and
"Life of Benedict Arnold," are regarded as standard works.
Elihu B. Washburne, in addition to his able editorial work
upon the "Edwards Papers" and "History of Edwards County,"
was also the author of a life of Governor Coles; his most elab-
orate work being "Recollections of a Minister to France."
John G. Nicolay and John Hay, who, notwithstanding their
long official residence at Washington, may well be claimed as
ILLINOIS AUTHORS. 951
citizens of Illinois, the State of their early manhood and start
in life, have gained well-merited fame as the authors of the
great work "Abraham Lincoln, a History," as well as for other
valuable contributions to history and literature.*
Edward Gay Mason has made many valuable contributions to
the early history of Illinois, a branch of study of which he has
made a specialty. Among these are "Illinois in the i8th Cen-
tury," "Kaskaskia and its Parish Records," and papers on La-
Salle, the first settlers of Chicago, and "The Story of James
Willing An Episode of the Revolution." He is also the
editor of "Early Chicago and Illinois," published by the Chicago
Historical Society, of which he is president, having succeeded
E. B. Washburne, who followed Isaac N. Arnold.
George P. Upton, who has been known for many years as an
author, besides his editorial work on the Chicago Tribune and
contributions to the press under the pseudonyme of "Peregrine
Pickle," has risen to a higher plane in the field of technical
literature through his biographies of Haydn, Wagner, and
Liszt, and his four volumes upon the standard operas, and
other musical works.
John W. Foster, a long time resident of Chicago,^ was a dis-
tinguished geologist, and his works, "The Mississippi Valley,
its Physical Geography," and "Prehistoric Races of the United
States," have found an honored place upon the shelves of the
best libraries in the United States and Great Britain.
Elias Colbert, also a writer on the Chicago Tribune, is the
author of those valuable scientific works, "Astronomy with the
Telescope," "Star Studies," and also a "History of Chicago."
William Mathews, a resident of Chicago from 1856 to 1880,
and for many years professor of rhetoric and English literature
in the University of Chicago, is the author of those well-known
and popular works, "Getting on in the World" reprinted in
London, and translated into Swedish and Magyar "The Great
Conversers," "Words, their Use and Abuse," and "Hours with
Men and Books," and several others of equal merit.
Dr. William F. Poole, the Nestor of western librarians, in
* In a note to the author, Mr. Nicolay says, "The title of citizen of Illinois is one
of which I have always been proud, and have no present wish to change. "
t Where he died in June, 1873.
952 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
addition to his great work of "An Index to Periodical Litera-
ture," is the author of many valuable and scholarly papers
illustrating western history, notably "The West" contributed
to Winsor's "Narrative and Critical History of America," "The
Ordinance of 1787," and "Anti- Slavery Opinions before the
Year 1800."
Bishop Samuel Fallows, distinguished as a soldier, divine,
and scholar, has added to his fame by the authorship of
his valuable works of reference entitled "Supplementary Dic-
tionary," "Handbook of Abbreviations," and "A Complete
Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms."
Benjamin F. Taylor was not only a popular war- correspon-
dent of the Chicago Evening Journal, and contributor to war-
literature in his "Campaign and Field" and "Missionary Ridge
and Lookout Mountain," but is better known as the author of
"The World on Wheels," and as a poet of rare genius and
great versatility.
Franc B. Wilkie, for many years a leading editorial writer on
the Chicago Times, has done some very strong work under the
nom de plume of "Polutio," and is the author of valuable studies
in his "Walks about Chicago" and his "History of the Great
Conflagration."
Other writers, not heretofore mentioned, who have contributed
carefully- prepared volumes relating to the history of the West
and Chicago, may be mentioned as follows: Mrs. John H. Kin-
zie, author of "Wau-Bun;" John S. Wright, Henry H. Hurlbut,
Rev. Wm. H. Milburn, the "blind preacher; Hiram W. Beckwith,
Rufus Blanchard, L. D. Ingersoll, Rev. James B. McClure, and
George S. Phillips "January Searle."
In the domain of fiction and poetry, while the number of
those who have plumed their wings for ambitious flights is
legion, but few can be said to have reached the lofty height at
which they had aimed.
Eugene Field, widely known as one of the wittiest writers on
the western press, has found an appreciative public for his two
volumes a "Little Book of Profitable Tales," and a "Little Book
of Western Verse." They have attracted not only admiring
readers in this country but have been approvingly read and
reviewed in Europe.
iHt UBRIIRY
Of IHt
UNIVERSITY Of ILLINOIS
ILLINOIS AUTHORS. 953
Major Joseph Kirkland, literary editor of the Chicago Tribune,
has achieved success in his three stories "Zury," "Phil," and
''The Captain of Company K." At present, he is engaged upon
an historical work, "The Story of Chicago," to appear in 1891.
Mrs. Mary Hartwell Catherwood has struck a popular chord
in her novels, "The Romance of Dollard," the "Story of Tonty,"
and the "Lady of Fort St. Johns," illustrating the romantic
period of the old French regime in a style singularly picturesque
and graceful.
Among other authors, aside from those who have distin-
guished themselves as writers upon subjects connected with
their professions of the law, medicine, and theology, whose works
either already have achieved or are destined to acquire a repu-
tation not ephemeral in its character, may be named the follow-
ing: David Swing, Carter H. Harrison, William H. Bushnell,
Wm. Henry Smith, VanBuren Denslow, John J. Lalor, Chas. H.
Ham, William S. B. Matthews, Opie P. Reed, John McGovern,
Eugene A. Hall, Elwyn A. Barren, Stanley Waterloo, Fred.
H. Hall, Harry B. Smith, W. D. Eaton, George M. McConnel,
Col. Frederick C. Pierce, John F. Finerty, Mrs. Hattie Tyng
Griswold, Gen. John Basil Turchin, Howard L. Conard, Henry
G. Cutler, Mrs. Ceiia P. Woolley, Frances E. Willard, Mrs.
Elizabeth Reed, Alice B. Stockham, Mrs. Caroline F. Corbin,
Mrs. Margaret F. Sullivan, Mary Allen West, Ida Scott Taylor,
Elizabeth S. Kirkland, Helen E. Starrett, and Frank Gilbert.
61
CHAPTER XLIX.
The Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Departments
Politics and Politicians Party Management Election
Statistics.
WITH one exception, the record of the executive adminis-
trations of the state government of Illinois has been of
a character alike satisfactory to the people and creditable to
the occupants of the gubernatorial chair.
In the early days, when the first constitution proved adequate
to the needs of a primitive people, candidates for official
honors were selected on the score of availability, rather than
because of intellectual qualifications or broad influence. Among
the governors of those days, only Edwards and Reynolds made
any pretensions to oratory Since 1856, however, nominees for
this office have been chosen from among the leading although
not always the most distinguished members of the respective
political parties. Of the fifteen chief executives chosen by the
people, ten have been lawyers, four farmers, and one a business
man. None of them have been native Illinoisans, although
Governors Reynolds and Ford, while born in Pennsylvania,
came to this State in their early years. Matteson and Bissell
first saw the light in New York. Of the rest, ten were natives
of Maryland, Virginia, and Kentucky, while one, French, traced
his descent from New England's sturdy stock. All of them
had been members of the legislature except Coles and Ford;
Edwards having served in the general assembly of Kentucky.
Nine have been members of congress. No scandal, impugning
his personal integrity, has ever been attached to any governor
of Illinois save Matteson. None of them, unless Matteson may
have been an exception, ever made any money out of the office,
having generally in fact left it poorer than when they entered
upon its duties.
Under the first constitution, the duties of the office were
light and easily performed; but they have gradually become
more onerous as well as important with the growth of the State
954
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 955
and the increase in the number of state-institutions and depart-
mental bureaus, until at present they tax to the utmost the
time, the ability, and the industry of the incumbent. The
powers committed to the executive of passing upon all the laws
enacted by the legislature, of taking "care that the laws be
faithfully executed," of calling special sessions, of appointments
to and removals from office, are large, and demand at times the
exercise of the highest order of legal and executive talent.
Four of those elected to the office of lieutenant-governor have,
in consequence of the resignation or death of the governor,
succeeded to that position, namely: William L. D. Ewing, John
Wood, John L. Beveridge, and John M. Hamilton.
The other offices of state, constituting the executive depart-
ment, have generally been filled by men of high character and
distinguished administrative ability, nearly all of whom under
the last and present constitution have received a second nomin-
ation and election, which they had justly earned.
The offices of secretary of state and auditor, under the first
constitution, were considered worthy the ambition of such
men as Douglas, Trumbull, and Shields; but in later years
they have been given to business men, the greater portion of
whom would have been much better off today had they "kept
out of politics."
In no other department of the state government have so
many changes been effected as in the legislative. Under the
first constitution, the general assembly had the selection of all
the judges, the state treasurer, auditor, attorney-general, public
printer, and prosecuting attorneys. To be a member of a body
exercising so much power as this excited the aspirations of the
most able and influential citizens in every county. Its sessions
were attended by all the leading men of the State as interested
on-lookers, or as applicants for positions for themselves, or for
their friends, and the state capital became the focus of political
interest and power. The national government, with which com-
munication was so seldom and difficult, and the direct effect of
whose laws was hardly ever felt by the people of the State,
was virtually shut out of public notice by the predominating
interest taken in the transactions of the state legislature.
The proceedings were simple and direct, as were the dresses
956 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
and habits of the members. Much of the business was determined
by action on petitions and resolutions. There were at first only
seven committees, namely: those on the judiciary, finance, elec-
tions, petitions, propositions and grievances, militia, and internal
improvements. Bills were introduced on motion for leave, and
were sometimes negatived when their titles were made known.
The change by which the law-making power is virtually con-
trolled by committees has been gradual, yet complete. The
rules of the thirty-sixth general assembly provide for forty-
nine committees for the house and thirty-five for the senate.
The appointment of these committees by the speaker, which
work was formerly done within three days, now requires as many
weeks. The chairmanships of certain committees, such as the
judiciary, railroads, corporations, appropriations, insurance, print-
ing, and others, are coveted by reason of the power which
these positions confer. All bills introduced are now required
to be printed and referred to "the proper committee" for con-
sideration. They are in charge of the chairman, upon whom
the duty of calling the committee together for agreeing upon a
report devolves. He may hasten or retard its action at his
pleasure; and only direct interference of the general body by
resolution, the adoption of which may be difficult to secure, can
compel action contrary to his own will. Woe be to that bill
which falls into the hands of an unfriendly chairman, as an ad-
verse or even delayed report from the committee generally kills
it. Inexperienced members frequently become impatient over
the failure of a committee to report upon their favorite meas-
ure, and are unable to find out what the matter is until they find
their bill, though reported upon favorably, so far down on the
calendar as to render its passage hopeless. Their eyes are then
opened.
A bill in itself unobjectionable is also frequently delayed in
committee by the preference given to more favored or important
measures, or by its reference to a sub-committee which holds
it back. Sometimes, indeed, when, after repeated failures to do
so on request, a chairman has at length felt compelled to call
his committee together to consider a particular bill, finding
there is no other way to compass its defeat, he reports that the
bill has been mislaid or lost thus still practically controlling
legislation.
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 957
The committees on the judiciary and judicial department are
the most important, and upon their proper constitution depends
the hindrance or defeat of the many foolish, absurd, and vicious
measures introduced. They should be the legislative charnel-
houses of all bad bills; and their chairmen should be not only
judicially-minded law-makers but incorruptible citizens. They
ought to be appointed solely upon their merits and fitness for
the position; but, instead of this, their selection is too often
made dependent upon how many votes they can command in
caucus to secure the nomination of the speaker. Their attitude
with regard to contending factions in the party and the desira-
bility of contributing to the success or failure of either, also
not infrequently affect the result. Sometimes, indeed, in cases
of sharp conflicts over the speakership, leading chairmanships
have been "farmed out," by reason of which method of dis-
position, inefficient, if not incompetent, members have received
the best places, to the exclusion of those possessing the neces-
sary qualifications to fill them.
The lack of spoils to distribute, under the second constitu-
tion, and the reduced powers granted to the legislature, together
with the vastly- increasing interests of internal growth, which
occupied the attention of the people, caused a diminished
attendance upon the sessions of the general assembly until the
important question of corporation privileges brought about the
era of special legislation. The lobby began to make its influ-
ence felt as early as 1855, and from that time until the adoption
of the constitution of 1870 increased in power. The number
of bills enacted into laws was in direct proportion to the influ-
ence which it exerted. That money was sometimes shamelessly
used, as well as the promise of the rewards of office, there can
be no doubt. Yet so carefully were the tracks of the go-betweens
covered that but few of their transactions have ever come to
light really none of them in tangible form.
Under the admirable provision of our present constitution,
prohibiting special legislation, venality has taken- a new direc-
tion. The many rich and powerful corporations which have
grown up in the State within the past few years are made the
subject of attack by the introduction of propositions to impose
certain legislative burthens upon them or in some way to restrict
958 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
their power. In some instances, doubtless, meritorious amend-
ments are intended, but more frequently the object of the
author of the bill, if he acts with the majority and is influential,
is a menace which can be satisfied only by the inducement ot
a consideration.
Perhaps the contrast between former general assemblies and
those of the present is in no way more distinctly presented than
in their personal composition. As a general thing, the best men
of a district are not now, as in former years, selected especially
in the large cities. The leading lawyers, many of whom are
the salaried attorneys of large corporations, or are in the enjoy-
ment of a practice which will not admit of being neglected, find
no longer any inducement to surrender their business for the
equivocal honor of going to the legislature. Wealthy merchants,
manufacturers, traders, large farmers and dealers in stock, are
too much absorbed by the demands of an exacting occupation
to devote either time or attention to the affairs of state, other
than as they may personally affect them.
The influence of congressional enactments has been more
directly felt in Illinois during the last two decades than ever
before. This accession of influence may be attributed to several
causes the extension and improvement of transportation facili-
ties have practically reduced the distance between the state and
national capitals; the war of the rebellion demonstrated the
necessity for a strong central authority; and the increase in the
number of states has rendered more concentration of power
in a federal head desirable for the facilitation of commerce, the
adjustment of conflicting claims, and the advancement of the
common good. Problems relating to trade, revenue, currency,,
taxation, and transportation are no longer confined, as regards
either their discussion or their solution, to the contracted inter-
ests of any particular state. These considerations, in connection
with the fact that general statutes have been enacted covering
almost every conceivable subject, and that consequently little
new legislation outside of appropriation bills is required, are
urged by leading citizens as an excuse for their indisposition to
legislative service. This leaves the field open notably in the
larger cities to the occupation of ward politicians, small office-
holders, and saloon - keepers, who seek political preferment
either for themselves or their friends.
LEGISLATIVE CONTRASTS. 959
Another noticeable feature in the composition of today's
general assemblies consists in the proportion of members of
foreign birth. Prior to the war, they could be numbered on the
fingers of one hand, and were confined to those who had been
long resident in the State and had become distinguished for
their services. In the legislature of 1869, the number had
increased to ten, while in that of 1875 it had arisen to twenty-
eight, and in that of 1889 to thirty-three. At the same time,
even this number is not out of proportion to the naturalized
voters in the State, who naturally claim the right of selecting
a fair share of representatives from their own class.
Although special legislation is now prohibited, the number of
bills introduced is so large that only about one in ten has any
chance of becoming a law. The most of these are in the nature
of amendments, often very trifling ones, to existing statutes.
Others are ventures in new fields or efforts toward additional
restrictions upon corporations, by which the author expects to
reap some personal advantage or to please his constituents,
rather than to benefit the people of the State. A new member
often presumes that it is essential to his influence in his district
that his constituents shall frequently see his name in the papers,
as the author of particular bills, whereas the greatest service he
could render them, and his surest step toward fame, would be
to refrain from posing as a would-be statesman.
Another notable contrast between legislatures of the present
and those of the earlier periods is to be observed in the relative
influence of speech- making. Formerly, the merits of a con-
tested measure were fully and oftentimes eloquently discussed
on the floor of both houses by the ablest talent the State could
furnish. That time has gone by. Very little debate is now
heard, and the speeches which are attempted are generally
short and far from being rhetorical.
Before the days of the telegraph and daily press, the pro-
ceedings of the general assembly were only to be gathered from
crude and incomplete letters published in weekly newspapers
or from the member's own report on his return home; in which
case, doubtless, the part taken by himself was not underesti-
mated. Nowadays, in the voluminous reports furnished by
reporters and special correspondents, the member is not only
960 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
relieved from all trouble on this account but is frequently con-
fronted with a record which he would have preferred to suppress.
Indeed, the recollection that the eye of the reporter is upon him
and that his action may be the subject of caustic criticism
undoubtedly operates as a wholesome restraint upon the con-
duct of one who might otherwise be inclined entirely to "break
over the traces." The correspondent himself is subject to
surveillance, and is held to a strict account by his employer;
but while there is abundant opportunity for false coloring, and
a strong temptation toward misrepresentation in certain cases
by a splenetic, disgruntled, or subsidized writer, the general
tendency of legislative reports in leading newspapers is toward
the support of laudable measures, the exposure of incompetency,
and the checkmating of venality and corruption.
While it will doubtless be conceded that the legislators of a
generation ago had a finer sense of honor and appreciated more
highly the dignity of their position than their successors now
do, whether their moral honesty was of a higher type than that
of later days is, at least, questionable. The action of the third
general assembly in the election contest of Shaw versus Han-
son, by which a member was seated at the opening of the
session for one purpose and replaced by his opponent at the
close for another, was the consummation of a political outrage
which has never since been paralleled in this State. Had the
proceedings been subject to the censorship of the daily press, it
could hardly have occurred. That the measure for internal
improvements and the bill for the removal of the capital to
Springfield could only have been passed by the tenth general
assembly as the result of innumerable trades, there is no doubt,
although the latter were made for the benefit of localities rather
than of individual members.
While votes, in these early days, were susceptible to influence,
transactions into which the use of money actually entered for
personal benefit were unknown. Indeed, in a young commu-
nity the temptation to offer or receive bribes was naturally far
less than in later days, when the rapid development of material
interests aroused a cupidity which only the possession of wealth
could satisfy. What earlier members would have done when
log-rolling came to be practised for pecuniary gain or political
LONGEST SERVICE IN THE LEGISLATURE. 961
advancement, can be inferred only from what they did in analo-
gous situations. The reflection, however, that notwithstanding
the admitted increase of education, culture, and wealth, there
has not been a corresponding improvement in either the morals
or intellectual strength of our law- makers, is not flattering to
the progress of the race.
In the earlier periods of the State's history, all those who ex-
pected to be at all distinguished in public life served a novitiate
in the legislature if theycould secure an election. Membership was
regarded as the stepping-stone to political preferment, and the
list embraced the names of Lincoln, Douglas, Browning, Kane,
Robinson, Young, Me demand, Me Roberts, Shields, Semple,
Trumbull, Reynolds, Bissell, Yates, Logan, Palmer, Richardson,
Arnold, David Davis, Oglesby, and Cullom. While many of
these were soon transferred to more important positions, others
served during several sessions.
The honor of the longest service in the general assembly is
equally divided between Andrew J. Kuykendall, a republican, of
Vienna, Johnson County, and Thomas E. Merritt, a democrat,
of Salem, Marion County who each served through ten ses-
sions. The period of service of the former extended from the
thirteenth general assembly, 1842-3, to the thirty-second, 1881;
and that of the latter from the twenty-sixth, 1869, to the thirty-
sixth, 1889. Major Kuykendall was in the I3th and I4th
house, and in the I7th, i8th, I9th, 2Oth, 2ist, 22d, 3ist, and 32d
senate. "Tom" Merritt, as he is familiarly called, served in
the 26th, 27th, 29th, 3Oth, 35th, and 36th house, and in the
3 ist, 32d, 33d, and 34th senate.
Conrad Will of Jackson County, who served in the first
nine general assemblies, and Lorenzo D. Whiting of Tiskilwa,
Bureau County, whose service reached from the 26th house to
the 34th senate, are entitled to the distinction of the longest
continuous service eighteen years each; and Whiting for the
longest consecutive membership in the senate, having occupied
a seat in that body from 1871 to 1887 sixteen years. Newton
Cloud of Morgan County, also served eighteen years, beginning
with the seventh house and ending with the twenty- seventh;
forty years having elapsed between the first and last service.
It is a singular fact that two members bearing the same patro-
962 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
nymic, Archer, and nearly the same Christian names, William B.,
Trom Clark County (1824 to 1848), and William R., from Pike
County (1861 to 1887), should have each served the same num-
ber of years sixteen, partly in the senate and partly in the
house. George Churchill, of Madison, also served sixteen years
beginning with the third house.
Norman B. Judd of Cook County, served sixteen years, 1844
to 1860, continuously in the senate, as did John H. Addams of
Stephenson, from 1855 to 1871. James Herrington, of Geneva,
Kane County, and Elijah M. Haines, of Waukegan, Lake County
but whose place of business was in Chicago life-long antag-
onists yet life- long friends, each served through eight sessions
of the house; the latter being a member of the thirty- sixth
general assembly at the time of his decease, April 25, 1889, the
former in July, 1890, following him to the roll-call in the
"undiscovered country."
Among the earlier members, Zadoc Casey served eight years
four sessions in the house, and, including his term of three
years as lieutenant-governor having resigned before its expira-
tion nine years in the senate, making an entire service of
seventeen years; he also served ten years in the lower house
of congress. Gov. Casey, William L. D. Ewing, and Alexander
M. Jenkins were the only members who had the honor of pre-
siding, at different times, over both the house and senate. Joseph
Gillespie from Madison County, afterward for many years a
judge of the circuit-court, served twelve years in the senate and
two in the house; John Henry of Morgan, six years in the house
and eight in the senate, John Harris of Macoupin, the same
period each seven sessions. Henry H. Evans of Aurora, Kane
County, and Charles E. Fuller of Belvidere, Boone County, will
each also have served fourteen years consecutively at the com-
pletion of their present terms in the senate. Samuel Alexander
of Union, Edwin B. Webb of White, and Peter Warren of Shelby,
each served twelve years.
John McLean and William L. D. Ewing were each three times
elected speaker of the house, and James Semple, Shelby M.
Cullom, Franklin Corwin, and Elijah M. Haines, twice each.*
* The family of Smiths leads numerically all others having 32 members; the Jones'
follow with 23, while the Brown's and Davis' tie at 21 each. The Miller's and
'THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 963
The longest continuous session of the general assembly was
that of the twenty-seventh 293 days ; the shortest, that of the
first 37 days.
As suggested in another place, many of the legislative evils
of the State have arisen from the unlimited length of the ses-
sions of the assembly. No satisfactory reason can be urged in
favor of long sessions and all experience contradicts either
their necessity or value. The reform most needed in this
State is the adoption of a constitutional amendment restricting
the length of sessions to one hundred days.
The proper constitution of the judicial department has en-
grossed the attention of the best minds in each of the three
constitutional conventions of the State. When the article
in the first constitution, relating to the supreme court, was
adopted, although the principle of life tenures was recognized,
so careful were the delegates that the rights of the people might
not be jeopardized in the selections made, on account of the
small number of lawyers then in the State from whom to
choose, that it was provided that a new election should be
held by the legislature in 1825. After this period, they held
their offices during good behavior, as did also the circuit-judges,
subsequently created.
The four supreme judges, first elected, performed circuit-court
duties until 1824, when they were relieved by the appointment
of five circuit-court judges. This arrangement, however, lasted
only until January, 1827, when the latter office was abolished
and the supreme-court judges resumed their circuit duties. In
January, 1829, a circuit-judge was elected by the general assem-
bly to hold court on the north side of the Illinois River. In
1835, a law was passed providing for the election of five circuit-
judges, in addition to the one already appointed, who should
hold the several circuit - courts, and once more relieve the
supreme bench from the performance of that duty.
In 1841, the judiciary was reorganized by the repeal of the
circuit- court act, the new law providing for the election by the
legislature of five additional associate justices of the supreme
Moore's are not far behind with 19 each. Then come the Allen's with 18, the
Johnson's and Thompson's with 14 each; Wilson's 15, Campbell's and Walker's 13,
Green's and White's 12, Marshall's n, and Adams' 10.
964 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
court, who, together with the chief-justice and associates then in
f>ffice, were once more required to hold the circuit-courts. This
system continued until the adoption of the constitution of 1848.
This method of election by the people was adopted in the
constitutions of 1848 and 1870, a change which has worked to the
satisfaction of the electors; as has also the division of the duties
of the supreme and circuit-judges, and the lengthening of the
term of the former from six to nine years. No scandals have
been connected with the judiciary department under either of
these constitutions. The provision that the judicial elections
shall be held at a different date from those for the other offices
has tended to separate them from party politics, and no sharp
contests, upon the usual dividing lines, have ever occurred. The
judges selected have been of high character and eminent legal
ability.
Among all those who served under the first constitution,
the name of Samuel Drake Lockwood stands out conspicuously
as that of the beau -ideal jurist. Tall and spare in form, grace-
ful in bearing, with hair turned nearly white before he was fifty,
although he lived to be eighty-five, with a high forehead, and
features strongly marked with lines of thought, care, and feel-
ing, his aspect was at once benevolent, venerable, and intellect-
ual. His appearance on the bench was the very personification
of dignity, learning, and judicial acumen.
His charges to grand -juries were preserved and served for
years as models to his successors. Delivered in a voice clear and
musical and with impressive force, they fell upon his auditors,
comprising the best citizens of a county, with oracular effective-
ness. The following extract from one of them will fully justify
the estimate in which they were held:
"To your hands are committed the peace, good government,
and safety of society. The manner in which you perform the
duties appertaining to your station will evidence the regard you
possess for the laws of your country and the happiness of your
fellow- men; for without your intervention, no violator of the
penal laws of the country, however high-handed may be his
crime, can be brought to justice. In performing this duty, you
should exercise great vigilance and circumspection. Vigilance,
that every offender may be brought to meet the punishment
his crime deserves; and circumspection, that no person be
LOCKWOOD'S GRAND-JURY CHARGE. 965
charged with a crime of which he is not guilty. Hence you
will perceive that your duty requires you not only to see that
the great interests of society be not trampled under foot by the
lawless, with impunity, but that you are also to be a shield to
protect the innocent from the false accusations of the malicious
and unprincipled. Your duty is, therefore, one of great impor-
tance and delicacy; but it ought, nevertheless, to be. discharged
fearlessly and according to the dictates of a good conscience.
Although it is true if an accusation is false, the accused will
be acquitted by a traverse jury, yet a person, however innocent
and fair his character may be, can not be indicted for a crime
without sustaining some injury to that character and some loss
of property. Many who have heard of the indictment may not
hear of the acquittal. His own and his family's feelings are
frequently tortured with anxiety and apprehension, and his de-
fence must necessarily involve him in considerable expense.
Whenever, therefore, you are satisfied that a charge originates
in malice and falsehood, you ought to reject it.
"I would not, however, have you let a bare fact that the
charge is false and malicious deter you from finding an indict-
ment when your judgment is convinced that the accused is
guilty. Exercise your reason upon the testimony given in
before you. If upon investigation, you are convinced that a
crime has been committed, and that the accused is the perpet-
rator, it would then become criminal in you not to find a bill.
As only the testimony on the part of the people is proceeded
before you, it ought to be strong enough to induce you, if you
were sitting as a traverse jury, to find a verdict of guilty. *
The great object in prosecuting and punishing men for their
crimes is twofold: first, to reform the guilty; secondly, to deter
those who are yet innocent, by the punishment that they see
will inevitably be inflicted upon them, if they do not abstain
from committing similar offences.
"But, gentlemen, the laws may define crime, grand-juries may
indict, petit-juries may convict, and the arm of justice may
inflict the punishment due; still mankind will be vicious, and
offences will continue to afflict and mar the peace of society.
Does not the law, then, contain within itself sufficient energy
and power to suppress and eradicate crime? It is, gentlemen,
a melancholy truth that it does not. Is there, then, no means
within the power of man to greatly diminish, if not wholly sup-
press, the commission of vicious and criminal acts? Yes, gen-
tlemen, such can be done." The judge then proceeds to
admonish the jury against the "predominant vice of intemper-
ance, which is hurrying such great numbers into crime, ruin,
and the grave." He describes its evils at length, of whose
966 ILLINOIS HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL.
existence, he remarks, "every court-yard, every election, almost
every public gathering, every docket of the court, is pregnant
with evidence as strong as proofs from Holy writ," and recom-
mends "total abstinence" as the one great remedy for its wrongs.
Judge Lockwood's circuit, the old first, was the most difficult
of all others to preside in because of the unequaled ability and
fighting qualities of the bar. With Lamborn and Douglas,
Judge Logan, Baker, Hardin, Lincoln, McConnel, Judge Wm.
Brown, and David A. Smith, for its leading members, every
issue joined was bitterly contested. There was no advantage
known to the law by way of demurrers, amendments, and jeof-
ails, special pleas, continuances, and changes of venue, which
was not legitimately invoked in behalf of a client.
The most exciting cases, aside from those on the criminal
docket, were often appeals from justices of the peace, or trials
of the right of property, involving originally only a small sum,
but becoming important by the large amount of accruing costs,
and the party-feeling engendered in the neighborhood where
they arose. The best lawyers on the circuit were employed in
such cases, and they turned the full light of their genius, wit,
and eloquence upon their development.
In one of these cases,* in Pike County, involving the owner-
ship of a horse, in which there had been several hung juries and
mistrials, a novel proceeding occurred. Twenty witnesses, at
least, on one side declared on their oaths that the horse was a
three-year-old and belonged to the plaintiff, and an equal num-
ber with equal positiveness testified that he was a four-year-old
and belonged to the defendant. Col. Baker represented the
former and Gen. Hardin the latter. When the evidence was all
in, the attorney for the plaintiff proceeded to address the jury
in his inimitable manner. After opening the case, he proceeded
to say that so certain was he that the horse belonged to his
client that he was perfectly willing for the jury all farmers
to make a personal inspection of the animal, and bring in the
verdict without further argument. He had no idea that such a
proposition would be entertained, or if agreed to that the court
would sanction it. But Gen. Hardin